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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



J 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 



/ 

Charles Wesley Emerson, M, D„ LL D, 

'i 

President of the Emerson College of Oratory, 
Boston. 




BOSTON : 
EMERSON COLLEGE OF ORATOR^^ 
36 Bromfield Street. 
March, 1891. 



,E 53 



Copyright, 1891, 
By Charles Wesley Emerson. 



cashman, keating & co., 
electrotypers and printers, 
Boston. 



INDEX. 



A. 

Esthetic value of our exercises, 43, 44, 47, 48, 50, 54, 55, 56, 
59, 61, 71, 75-79, 80, 82, 83, 93 to 104 



Alcohol ........ 


. 146 


Altitude of the vital organs . . . . . 


. 8-10 


Arm movements in curves . . . . = 


. 84-88 


Arms and legs in relation to torso 


.63,64 


Arteries, relation of exercise to . 


25 


A^'ticulations, exercise for . . . . . 


. 19, 20 


Attitudes in harmony with the law of gravitation . 


21, 41-45 


Attitudes of the mind, healthy . . . . 


149-154 


Attributes of the soul ...... 


33, 34, 36 



B. 

Balance between the energy that supplies and the energy 



that wastes 13-15 

Bathing 122, 123 

Beauty and health 24-30 

Beauty in unity ........ 27-30 

Beauty, what is included in 29, 30 

Bellows, Dr. ........ 139 

Bending exercises ....... 71-73 

Beverages ........ 145-148 

Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost, the ... 1 
Body, relationship of mind to . . . 32-39,149-154 
Brain forcing in schools ...... 18 

V 



• 



Bread . 
Breathing 



. 140 

. 13, 49-53, 65-71 



c. 



Carpenter, Wm. B., M. D., F. R. 8. 


, F. G. 8. 


151-153 


Carter, Dr. ..... 




152, 153 


Centres, exercises for strengthening 


the 


14, 81, 82 


Chemical elements in food 




138-142 


Chest exercises .... 




49-54, 56 


Chocolate and cocoa 




. 146 


Circulation, how to equalize the 




75 


Clark, J. ^y 




• 146 


Climate ..... 




115-117 


Climax to repose in exercise, from 




31 


Clothing ..... 




129-135 


Coffee ...... 




. 146 


Coffee, preparation of 




. 146 


Cold drinks ..... 




146, 147 


Confectionery .... 




144, 145 


Conservation of force developed by 


exercise 


. 89-93 


Consumption .... 




66, 69, 70 


Correlation of forces and conservation of energy . 


. 92, 93 


Corsets ...... 




. 54, 55 


Criticism of methods of education 




8 


Curves, movements in . 




. 84-88 


Cutter, Dr 




70 



D. 



Delsarte ....... 

Diet 

Directions for exercises, three general . 
Direction for practising exercises in fourth di\ 
further ....... 



98 

135-144 
31 

103, 104 



vi 



Divisions of exercises, — 

First division . . . . . . . . 40-45 

Second division ....... 46-62 

Third division . 63-83 

Fonrth division 84-104 

Drink 145-148 

Drink, quantity of 147, 148 

Drink, temperature of . . . . . . 147, 148 

E. 

Ease vs. friction . . . . . . . . 29, 30 

Elongating exercises ....... 76-78 

Energy that supphes and energy that wastes . . 13-15 
Equilibrium and muscular sense . . . 44, 100, 101 
Exercise and voice . . . . . . . 55, 56 

Exercise, beautiful vs. ugly movements . . 25-27, 30 
Exercise for articulations joining parts . . . 19, 20 
Exercise, three directions for ..... 31 

Exercise, its etfect upon the arteries .... 25 

Exercise, permanence in . . . . . . 18, 19 

Exercise, when and how much .... 123, 124 

Exercises authorized and required ])y the laws of the 

human economy ....... 8 

Exercises, directions and descriptions . . . 40-104, 123, 124 
Exercises for development of harmony in muscular 

movements . . . . . . . 84, 104 

Exercises, proper order for taking . . . . 31 

F. 

Fitch, Dr. S. S 10 

Food 135-144 

Food, flavor of . . . . . . -143,144 

Food, most nutritious kinds of . . . . 138-142 

Food, quantity of . . . . . . . 142, 143 

vii 



Food, variety in . . . . . . . , 142 

Forward movements in curves . . . . , 88 



G. 

Gracefulness 79,80 

Gravitation, attitudes in harmon}' with law of . .21 

Greek art 96, 97, 99 

Greek culture 2, 26 

Greek education and the principle of rei^etition . . 6, 21 

H. 

Harmonious movements .... 20, 21, 27-30 
Harmonizing the forces generated by exercise . . 89-93 
Harmony, exercises for developing . . . 84-104 

Health and beauty' • 24-30 

Health and longevit}' . . . . . . 105-154 

Healthy attitudes of the mind .... 149-154 

Heredity, the law of 106-108 

Hips, exercise for . 46, 47 

Hygiene ..... . . . 105-154 

Hygienic value of our exercises, 42, 43, 47, 49-53, 57-61, 66, 

67, 74, 75, 78, 79, 89-93 
" Hypnotic Therapeutics " ..... 152,153 

J. 

Jackson, Dr 12 

L. 

Lander, Meta 149 

Lateral movements in curves ..... 87 
Law of gravitation, attitudes in harmony with . . 21 

Law of heredity 105-108 

Law of opposition . . . . . . . . 98, 99 

Law of rhythm 89 



viii 



Lrws to be obeyed in bodih- education, physiological 

and psychological . . . . . . . 1-39 

Lifting the vital organs ....... 8-10 

Longevity ........ 108-115 

Lungs . . - 66, 68-71 



Maximum result with minimum effort . • . . ' 21 
Medicine, use of ....... . 145 

Mind, healthy attitudes of the .... 149-154 

Mind, its relationship to bodily education . . . 32-39 
Movements, harmony in . . . . . . 20, 21 

Movements in curves ....... 84-88 

Muscles involved in our exercises, 45, 49, 51, 56, 59, 61, 62, 67, 

68, 75, 81, 104 

Muscles, relationship between groups of . 22-24, 84-104 
Muscles that surround the vital organs . . . . 11, 12 
Muscular sense and equilibrium . . . 44, 100, 101 
Music as an accompaniment to exercise . . 32, 104 
Mussey, Dr. ....... 



N. 

jS'eck, exercise for the . . . . . . . 60 

iSTervous sympathy throughout the system . . . 100 
JSTervous system, relation of exercise to the . . . 91-93 
N'ervous tension ........ 24 



o. 

Opposing muscles . . . . . . . 101,102 

Opposition, the law of 98, 99 

Organs, lifting of the . . . . . . . 9, 10 



ix 



p. 

Pastry 138, 139 

Permanence in exercise 18, 19 

" Philosophy of Eating " 139 

Physical culture in Greece ...... 2 

Physical energy and psychological force . . . 92, 93 

Physical exercise, music and 32 

Physiological and psychological laws to be obeyed in 

bodily education 1-39 

Physiology of the relationship of parts . . 96, 103 
Pneumogastric and sympathetic nerves . . . 15-17 

Poise 21, 22 

Poise, exercise for securing ...... 41-45 

Preface ......... 1 

Presence . . . . . . . . . 43 

Psycho-physical culture ...... 32-39 

R. 

E caching exercises - . . . . . . . 76-78 

Eelationship between groups of muscles . 22-24, 84-104 
Eelationship of parts to each other . . . 93-104 
Eepetition in education, value of . . . . . 5-7 

Eesistance, stimulation of muscles through . . 101, 102 
Eespiration and the vocal cords . . . . , 69-71 

Eespiration, physiology of correct .... 68-71 

Eest to climax in exercise, from . . . . . 31 

Eesults of our exercises ...... 4 

Ehythm, the law of 89 

Eotary arm movement . . . . . . . 65, 66 

Eotary waist movement 56, 57 

s. 

Self command and beauty ...... 30 

Sides, exercise for . . . . . . . 49 

Sleep, best time for 127-129 

Sleep, number of hours required . . . . 125-127 



Soul, educating the body with reference to the . . 32-39 
Spinal cord and spinal nerves ..... 15-17 

Stimulation of opposing muscles through resistance 101, 102 
Stoop, exercise for overcoming ..... 10-45 

Stretching exercises ....... 76-78 

Strong centres and free surfaces .... 14,81,82 

Suggestions for securing health and longevity . 105-154 
Surfaces, exercises for freeing the . . . 14, 81, 82 

Symmetry 79, 80 

Sympathetic and pneumogastric nerves . . . 15-17 

T. 

Test of health 1 

Tissue, undue waste of ....... 24 

Tobacco. • 149 

Torso, arms and legs in relation to .... 63, 64 

u. 

Ugly movements 25-27, 30 

Unity, its relation to beauty ...... 27-30 

Unique system of exercises . . . . . . 7, 8 

Upward movements in curves ..... 84-87 

V. 

Variety of repetition . . . . . . .5,6 

Vegetarianism ....... 135-138 

Ventilation 117-120 

Vital organs, muscles that surround the . . . 11, 12 

Vital organs, proper altitude of . . . . . 8, 9 

Vital supply for the entire organism .... 8 

Vocal cords, their function in breathing . . . 69-71 

Voice, relation of physical exercises to . . . . 55, 56 

W. 

Waist, exercise for . . . . . . . 56, 57 

Winship, Dr 14 



I 



PREFACE. 



The origin of this book is as follows. During the 
past few years the author has given public lectures 
upon a system of physical culture arranged by himself 
and consisting of exercises, many of which he origin- 
ated, while others were adapted from suggestions 
received from other systems. By means of this 
system, together with voice culture, the writer restored 
himself to health at a time when he had become a 
confirmed dyspeptic and was a victim of consumption 
in an incipient stage, and by means of this system he 
has since developed a most abundant vitality and great 
muscular power. The system became a part of the 
curriculum of the Monroe, now the Emerson College 
of Oratory, where it has been the means of restoring 
the sick to health, and of harmonious bodily education 
for the strong. 

The public lectures upon this system of physical 
culture and the original principles underlying it, have 
been received with a degree of favor that has en- 

xiii 



couraged the author to yield to the requests of students 
and alumni that the thoughts suggested in the lectures 
be placed in a more permanent form. The writer has 
striven to present the sj^stem in a teachable form, to 
avoid technical phraseology so far as may be, and, at 
the same time, to present a work which shall be 
suggestive rather than exhaustive. 

The exercises herein described and illustrated, con- 
stituting the original system of physical culture of the 
Emerson College of Oratory, are now being taught by 
graduates of this institution in universities, colleges, 
state normal and high schools in all parts of the 
United States and in Canada. 

The author desires to express his grateful acknowl- 
edgments for help and inspiration from suggestions 
received from the Ling (or Swedish system), the 
German system, the teachings of Delsarte, and Lewis 
B. Monroe, the late lamented Dean of the Boston 
LTniversity School of Oratory. 

C. W. E. 



xiv 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 



PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL LAWS TO BE 
OBEYED IN BODILY EDUCATION. 



" Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost . . . 
therefore glorify God in your body." — I. Coe. vi., 19-20. 

ONE of the encouraging signs of these times is 
that people are coming to recognize that there is 
no virtue in being sick. The time has been when life 
Avas considered nnholy, but vitality is as j^i'ecious in 
the sight of God as is intelligence. Soundness of brain 
depends upon soundness of body. There is no such 
thing as a sound mind in an unsound body. The 
unsoundness of mind may not be very apparent, but it 
is actual. The test of the health of the body is happy 
sensation continuous. ^We are responsible to God for 
our bodies. 

The appearance of men and women as we see them 
on the street, in the counting-room, and in the parlor, 
as well as the testimony brought in from every source 



1 



in regard to public schools, and the time allowed for 
physical exercises therein, are sufficient to show us 
that, as a nation, we have little conception of what 
physical education requires. It is astonishing, in view 
of the past, and in view of the future, that men do not 
see that, in a republican government, we must depend 
upon the strength and the power of the men and the 
women who carry it forAvard, — that nothing is attained 
without the rounding of the whole man. I scarcely 
need refer to the Greeks, and yet, so far as education 
is concerned, they have been the despair of all suc- 
ceeding ages. We have had in no other age schools 
to be compared in results with the Greek schools. 
Nowhere else has there been such personal education. 
What did they lay as the basis? Physical culture. 
In that is tlie secret of their success. Greece has 
given us representative men in every department. We 
point to Greece for the greatest orator, for the greatest 
creative poet, for the greatest sculptor, for the first man 
in what we consider the highest mental philosophy. 
Plato intellectually stands at the head of all the 
philosophers of the world. We nmst remember, then, 
that that which made the Greeks what they were about 
four or five hundred years before Christ, was the natural 
evolution from physical culture.. 

For nearly two tliousand years the subject of 

2 



physical education lay dormant. The modem gymna- 
sium has revived it. The enthusiasm for hodily 
training thus created, will be of inestimable value, 
for, as a public, we are lethargic upon this all-impor- 
tant subject. 

In setting forth and describing in some detail, exer- 
cises, many of Avhich are original Avith me, and all of 
which are practised according to principles that have 
not heretofore entered prominently into the theory and 
practice of other instructors in physical education, I 
write in no spirit of criticism of systems or methods. 
I recognize no antagonism. A great bank of darkness 
envelops the world. Eveiy true teacher is a torch- 
bearer, advancing into that darkness. We cannot add 
to the general illumination of the world by extinguish- 
ing the torches of others. 

No great artist ever spent his time in criticism of 
other artists. Michael Angelo was once asked to criti- 
cise some of Raffael's frescoing. He said nothing, but 
he took a crayon and drew a figure — the best he could, 
and then replied : I criticise by example." Michael 
Angelo emphasized a gospel j^rinciple. Criticise your 
neighbor by example ; by living better, if you can. As 
much of truth as is in jonv Avork A\'ill be immortal ; the 
rest you do not wish should live. Mendelssohn once 
said : I do not Avant to hear so much criticism of music. 



I want the critic to compose some music." But I may 
say a word in a fraternal spirit to the effect that I 
believe there is something good in nearly every system 
of physical culture. I never felt like discouraging 
any. All teachers and students of j^hysical culture, if 
they but understood these spiritual fraternities, would 
consider themselves brothers and sisters, and not be 
ready to say, My system is all right, and yours is all 
wrong." 

Let us say in the new light, " Come, let us reason 
together." Let us openly contribute all we may ; for 
when we are advocating any system of culture, be it 
mental or physical, it is the welfare of the race that is 
involved. 

-^Li presenting exercises which, in the principles 
involved, and in the arrangement and in the methods 
of practice constitute a unique S3^stem of bodily educa- 
tion, I shall speak, first, of results. The true test of 
the merit of a method is its results. Now, ten 
years of experience, ten years of watching effects 
has shown that the results of practising this method 
of physical culture are simply wonderful, more marvel- 
lous than I should like even to state. I can only 
allude in passing to the great cures that have been 
wrought in those who have followed it faithfully, — to 
the many who have been restored from dyspepsia, from 



lung troubles, from nervous ])rostration, from general 
debility. 

The Emerson College system of physical culture 
comprises about three hundred movements. Some of 
these movements are repetitions. These are not a 
great number of movements, when we consider that 
some systems advertise several thousands. One of the 
merits of having as few movements as possible is, that 
one may be allowed to repeat, for it is in repetition that 
good comes in any method of education. The one great 
fault of modern systems of education is, that they do 
not provide sufficiently for repetition. I say modern " 
— I might say American, but it w^ould not be true of 
America only. It is a fault which is as common in 
European methods of education as it is in American 
methods.. There are leading scholars in Germany, 
Avho, as individuals, follow out the old classic idea of 
repetition as a method of culture, to a greater extent, 
perhaps, than do eminent American scholars. But the 
prevailing tendency is to dissipation ; for desultory stucty 
leads to dissipation of thought and thought poAver. 

" Bj^ dividing his time among too many objects, a 
man of genius often becomes diamond dust instead of 
a diamond. Many a person misses of being a great 
man by splitting into tAvo middling ones." We must 
never lose sight of the educational A^alue of con- 



eentration and repetition. One of the things that are 
held up as commendations of some systems of physical 
culture, I look upon as a serious objection to them, 
namely, the very great variety which they advertise. 
In such systems there can be but little chance for 
repetition. It is said ''the child wants something new; 
it does not want to go over the same thing. It loses 
heart; it loses interest; and we must have a system 
which will command the interest of the child, because 
we are looking not merely to the restoration of adults, 
but to the improvement of children, and so we must 
have novelty in all forms of education." Let this be 
the novelty — seeing something new in the old. When 
the feeling is fresh the story is new I Why do we all 
rise up and declare for the Greeks ? Why do we give 
them the laurel, as the best educated people that ever 
graced the earth ? We do not pretend — ^ no one will 
pretend — to attain to the level of the Greeks ; 
circumstances Avill not admit of it. Men try to find 
reasons for Greek superiority in nationality, and in the 
times in which they lived. The reason is, simply, that 
educators have not so arranged our different studies as 
to make an equal provision for repetition. It is repeti- 
tion that develops power in the body. Hence, my 
object has been, while formulating a method of physical 
culture, to have just as few exercises as possible and 



reach the results, so that we may have a chance to 
repeat those exercises. Each exercise is so arranged 
as to attain the sum of the results of several exercises. 
According to observations, it will take a close student 
about four years of daily study and practice to attain 
perfection in execution of the movements required by 
the system. One need not divide it up and say, " I 
will stay so long on one part, and I will stay so long on 
another ;" but if he practises faithfully, in a reasonable 
length of time valuable results Avill appear in his 
person ; for increasing health and beauty will continue 
to reward his perseverance. His endurance of hard- 
ship and fatigue will be correspondingly augmented. 
This system of physical culture provides always for 
an ideal ; therefore, there is no such thing as reaching 
the end, because the exercises are in their nature with- 
out limitation. Something better can be done each day 
as long as they are practised ; that is, they are ever 
leading out and leading onward rather than coming to 
any point of limitation. There is alwa3's 'iiic possibility 
of education toward something beyond what we have 
attained. 

^ This system of exercises is entirely unique — 
entirely unlike as a system and in its methods, any 
other in the world. Be it a right one or a wrong one, 
it stands upon its own merits, and not upon the merits 

7 



of any other system. There is no one particular cardi- 
nal point in it that is like, as a principle, anything 
which is in any other sj^stem. One will often see 
exercises that have some resemblance to these, but 
our exercises are taken with reference to a principle 
entirely unlike the principle in reference to which other 
systems of exercises are practised. I do not say this 
to praise these exercises — that alone does not prove 
whether they are good or bad. I simply say they are 
unlike others. 

The system of physical culture, which we are to dis- 
cuss, aims=, in the first place, at the highest condition of 
health and hea^ity^ through such exercises as are author- 
ized and required by the laivs of the human economy. 
We cannot impose an exercise upon the human body. 
If we give an exercise, that exercise must be required 
by the laws of the physical economy. It is not a 
thing of accident. The body is under the dominion of 
law : that law requires that there should be exercise 
of a definite kind. The primary object sought in 
obedience to these requirements, is vital supply for 
the entire organism. By this I mean the practice of 
those exercises which help the body to obtain nourish- 
ment from the food given to it — from the nutrition 
provided. This end is accomplished, first, by securing 
the proper position of the vital organs. No exercises 

8 



should be taken until the organs are given their proper 
position. Any exercise taken when the vital organs 
are not in a proper position is harmful to those organs. 
The noi'mal positions of the vital organs are secured by 
the j)roper contractions of the muscles that sustain these 
organs. The greater the altitude of the vital organs, 
other things being equal, the greater is their vigor. 
The heart beats with a more perfect rhythm when 
lifted high in the chest than Avhen it is low. When 
the vital organs are high, the lungs consume more air, 
the stomach properly secretes gastric juice, the liver 
secretes bile from the blood, the alimentary canal is 
healthy in the production of what are called the 
peristaltic waves. The moment these vital organs are 
lowered from their normal altitude, that moment their 
tone of power is lowered. There is no physical defect 
so general as this, — that the vital organs are from one 
to four inches too low among adults, and among chil- 
dren down to the age of five or six years. Before this 
time tlie vital organs are high. 

As to the consequences, all physiologists Avill agree 
that no vital organ below its normal altitude can per- 
form its functions properly. It is a lequirement and a 
provision of our method of physical culture that these 
vital organs should be kept in position. This lifting of 
the organic does not necessarily consist in throwing the 

9 



chest out. The hings are not on the outside ; they are 
in the trunk of the body, and, as they are lifted, they 
throw the shoulders apart and broaden the back as 
much as they fill the chest. Too much is said about 
"holding the shoulders back," as if the v were oiven 
us to put behind us. The shoulders belong on the 
sides, and in raisings the lungs it is not necessary to 
throw the shoulders back. To bend the back and 
bulge the front of the body is to sacrifice the back to a 
protuberance in front. It is an injury to the lungs, 
and especiall}^ an injury to the stomach. ifTThave known 
more cases than I have recorded, of persons cured of 
dyspepsia by muscular exercise. But the first step 
in effectino' such a cure was to lift the vital oro-ans 
sufficiently high in the body, for I have never known a 
case of chronic dyspepsia where the stomach was as high 
as it ought to be while, at tlie same time, the person 
had proper nourishment. A clergyman came to me the 
other day saying that he had dyspepsia, — which some 
believe to be a " semi-clerical disease." The stomach 
proved to be two and one-half inches below its normal 
altitude. I told him that if he could bring the stomach 
up to its proper position, and his parisli did not starve 
him with a small salary, he might become healthy and 
rotund. 

Dr. S S. Fitch iuA'ented machines for sustaining the 

10 



vital organs, but their effect was disappointing. But 
the Creator of the body has given man a machine, with- 
out money and without price. Man must be taught 
to use it. These facts, gathering in my mind, have 
resulted in this conclusion : that there is no such thing 
as a chronic disease of any vital organ, so long as that 
organ maintains its normal altitude. If there is such 
a case, I have yet to find it, and I have examined 
many hundreds of persons in regard to that one j)oii:^t^^^/ 

The next method by which the vital organs are 
developed is, by exercising the muscles that surround 
the vital organs. The organs themselves do not 
possess voluntary muscles, nor are they connected 
directly with voluntary muscles ; but they are 
surrounded and held in place by voluntary muscles. 
These muscles exercise over those organs a certain 
quickening power. It may be asked how this can 
be, when these muscles are not connected directly 
with the vital organs. The muscles have a certain 
mechanical effect ; the}' bring a definite mechanical 
pressure to bear upon the organs. The muscles that 
surround the body are not to rest, but were 
destined to activity, from birth to death. It is a 
curious fact of observation, that the muscles around 
and over the vital organs, though not attached 
directly to any, — and the separation is clear-cut, — • 

11 



seem to be so related to the vital organs that one can 
judge of the condition of a vital organ by the muscles 
over it. For example, one can judge of the condition 
of the stomach by the condition of tlie muscles over 
it. A physiologist would not need to ask a man 
how his food agreed with him if he could examine 
the muscles over the stomach. A person with clironic 
dyspepsia cannot bear a touch upon the muscles over 
the stomach. If he happens to meet a blundering 
June bug he collapses. Why is this so ? M}" 
opinion is that the nerve centres which rule the 
vital organs are affected, through reflex action, by 
those nerve centres which govern the muscles sur- 
rounding the vital organs. Some muscles are con- 
trolled by the same nerves that control the organ 
under them. Those muscles that hold the organs 
in place, create such activity in the pneumogastric 
nerve that it carries life and animation to the 
stomach and liver. I know not how else to account 
for this observable fact. I saw it first recorded by Dr. 
Jackson, thirty years ago, as a record of his long 
experience with dyspeptic patients and those who 
had what they called " liver complaint." 

Moreover, the muscles that hold the stomach in place, 
constitute a portion of the muscles of respiration; 
therefore, if a person breathes only in the upper part of 

12 



the chest, he does not exercise what is below the kings. 
Deep, full breathing, exercises the muscles around the 
waist and exercises the viscera. The contents of the 
viscera are thus moved, and their energy is quickened. 
I am aware, in saying this, that certain works on physi- 
ology, declare that men and women ought to breathe 
differently ; that, while men should take a full and 
deep respiration, women should not ; that woman is 
not constituted so that she should, especially after the 
years of puberty. Yet, if we look at the muscles of 
respiration, Ave find that they are precisely alike in 
men and women, and the stomach and the liver need 
the same motions in both sexes in order to promote 
the activity of these organs. 

Now, the third method by which these vital organs 
are developed is by preserving a due balance hettveen the 
energy that supplies and the energy that wastes. There 
are certain muscles of the body that quicken the supply 
of blood, — that develop the power of life. It is blood 
that we want, — it is blood for which every part of the 
organism is crying out. Nourishment, nourishment, 
nourishment ! Where is the nourishment ? In the 
blood. What manufactures the blood ? The vital 
organs. Look well to them. From them radiates all 
power. The vital organs are the manufacturers of life. 
Now, a certain number of muscles are used perpetually 

13 



in quickening the activity of the vital organs. There 
are other sets of muscles that are used continually in 
wasting the supply that comes from these vital organs. 
Now, this latter system of muscles may be develo})ed 
until they will exhaust the blood and kill the person ; 
as in the case of tlie wonderful Dr. Winship, who 
develojDcd such muscular power that he could lift 
two thousand seven hundred pounds, but died of pros- 
tration. He lost the balance between the two func- 
tions. A man is truly strong, in proportion as he is 
strong in the vital centres. Here is the factory 
manufacturing blood, and that factory is kept up 
to its normal tone by exercising the muscles 
around its organs. Inasmuch as there is another 
set of muscles constantly using up and exhausting 
the blood, we must preserve due balance between the 
t wo sets ^^^g must strengthen the centres while we free 
^^ihesurfaces. If the demand of the muscles that waste, 
exceeds the vital supply, no matter how strong the 
muscles are, the health is going down. Strength of 
muscle is not health. We must, then, have a system of 
physical culture that aims directly at the vital organs ; 
first, and second, and all the way through. It is the 
testimony of physicians that over ninety per cent of 
diseases are caused by derangement of the stomach 
and liver. Hence the importance of strengthening 

14 



those organs. Our exercises spur the inactive liver to 
perform its functions, and they stimulate the process of 
digestion in the stomach, causing the gastric juice to 
flow more freeh'. They preserve the balance between 
the muscles that supply and the muscles that waste. 
[^y properly combining the exercises of the muscles of 
the neck, ai'ms, and legs with those of the torso, ^ye 
preserve due balance between the energy that supplies 
and the energy that wastes, j In all the exercises 
that we give for the arms and legs, the muscles that 
surround the vital organs are more powerfully ex- 
ercised than are the arms, neck, and legs themselves. 
The exercises are, in fact, so arranged as to affect 
immediatel}^ the vital organs. 

In the second place,/we maintain in our exercises the 
^equilibrium hetiveen the forces of the pyieumogastric and 
the sympathetic nerves^ on the one hand^ and the forces 
of the spinal cord and spinal nerves on the olher\ I 
have spoken of the muscles. Let us now consider 
what are the nerves that develop life — that maintain 
and quicken the vital organs in enabling them to fulfil 
their functions. First, the j^i^e^^^i^og'^'^tric nerve. It 
is by means of that nerve that the gastric juice is 
secreted in the stomach, — by means of it that man 
breathes, — by means of it that the machinery which 
manufactures the blood is carried on. Sever that nerve, 

15 



or the branch of it which goes to the stomach, and 
digestion ceases. One may try the experiment with 
a rabbit: when its stomach is well-filled, and after 
digestion has gone on a little while, if the nerve is 
severed, digestion ceases as suddenly as if the rabbit 
was annihilated. Tlie rabbit will live on for some 
time, because other branches are not severed; it 
breathes, acts, seems sprightly, but an examination of 
the stomach shows that digestion stopped at that point. 
The rabbit may live until congestion of the stomach 
causes its death. Sever the branch of the pneumogas- 
tric nerve that goes to the heart, and the heart has given 
its last beat, and the animal must instantly die. So I 
might take up other processes depending on this nerve, 
and show similar results. VThe pneumogastric nerve 
prepares food for the blood, that it may be poured into 
it in the form of nourishment.y One of the offices 
of the sympathetic nerve is to cause the tissues to 
assimilate the nutriment prepared b}^ the force of the 
pneumogastric nerve. Change the phrase : " Let good 
digestion wait on appetite, and health on both," to 
the extent of putting " assimilation " in the place of 
health," and we have the scientific account of the 
process of giving nourishment to the body, as defined 
by Shakespeare. I have said that there must be a 
balance between the activities of the pneumogastric 

10 



and sympathetic nerves, on the one hand, and the 
activities of the spinal cord and nerves on the other. 
Now, what is the office of the spinal cord and nerves? 
From the spinal cord comes power to move the hands 
and feet — iB2i2.^' force. Every time I move my arm, 
the tissues are calling for blood in the ratio of the 
waste, but this process is not manufacturing blood. 
I move my legs ; I spread them far apart ; I bring 
them together ; I run and leap ; I hang upon a pole ; 
I balance myself across the pole ; I pull at the rings ; I 
lift chest weights ; — all these processes are carried on 
by the strength of the spinal cord and the spinal 
nerves, and exhaust the fluids of life. No harm is 
done by this if, on the other hand, we develop equal 
energy in the pneumogastric and sympathetic nerves. 
But there is great_danger in going through all these 
severe exercises unless we have some counter e xercise s 
to supply an equivalent to the waste.^ Now, what we 
want in physical exercises, and what the Emerson 
College system provides for, is the preservation of 
proper balance between these two forces, so that, Avhile 
one is exercising the spinal cord and nerves, he is, 
by the same exercises, calling upon the pneumogastric 
and the sympathetic nerves to supply the nutriment 
exhausted by the use of the opposing nerves. 

Again, we must;' preserve this true balance hettveen the 

17 



exercise and stimulation of the life-sustaining forces and 
that of the brain. In schools Ave work the brains of 
children to their utmost capacity, that they may learn 
and recite certain lessons. But the value of acquire- 
ment is in its use. It is not altogether the knowledge 
a man possesses that gives him power, although 
knowledge is said to be power. The question is, 
what can the man do with his knowledge? Has he 
added to his brahi power by study? Yes, provided 
that he makes blood enough for that brain, otherwise 
he has not added to the sum total of his power. He 
may know how to solve a problem in geometry, but 
the knowledge of the solution of that problem may not 
have added anything to his personal power, unless 
he has sufficient blood to sustain the brain he is 
using while he is trying to discipline it by means of 
these lessons. The fundamental life-sustaining parts 
of the great nerve system must be nourished, before 
activity of the accessory portions is greatly taxed, or 
we shall have brain forcing and vital decline. We 
must secure permanence in exercise., and for this the 
exercises of the Emerson College provide in their very 
nature. Physical culture should continue through life. 
One cannot lay up a store-house of health during five 
years to draAv on for the next fifty years. He should 
be developed by a system of physical exercises that he 

IS 



can repeat every day, no matter where or how he is 
situated. Our system requires no apparatus ; it calls 
for no room especially prepared for exercises ; it makes 
no further demands for a special costume than that the 
clothing worn during exercise, must be loose and free. 
It needs neither clubs, rings, weights, dumb-bells, 
parallel bars, nor any of the things to be found in a 
well-furnished gymnasium. I am not an antagonist of 
these things. They are doing good in their place and 
time, but we cannot carry gymnasiums about with us. 
We are to develop the healthy man before we tr}^ to 
train him to be a Hercules. We want free gymnastics 
to which we can devote a iew minutes every day and 
under all conditions, for it is the continuance of 
exercise that gives it value. 

'^Another object sought by our exercises as a means 
to health and beauty is, to f ree the different parts of the 
physical system that are joined hy definite articulations^ 
and thus prevent them from embarrassing each other. 
The greater the number of articulations, the more 
complete the gracefulness, other things being equal. 
The serpent is the most graceful of animals because of 
the number and freedom of his articulations. If the 
articulations of the human bod}" are free, the person 
moves in curves, and there is also re^Dose of bearing. 
As soon as any articulation becomes rigid, the parts 

19 



Avliich that articulation joins embarrass each other in 
their movements, and hence produce friction and waste. 
For example, the articulations that are in the neck are 
often partially rigid, — - there is a lack of freedom. This 
is especially manifest in advancing age. The conse- 
quence is that the head on the one part, and the chest 
and back on the other, interfere with each other's 
movements and are dead weights upon each other, re- 
quiring a great deal more strength to move than would 
be necessary if the articulations were free. But the 
exercise that frees the articulation must be exact, and 
must be in accordance with the structure of the articu- 
lation itself. It is not every exercise that will develop 
an articulation. We must study that articulation, find 
its physiological nature, and adapt our exercises to it. 
fwe should secure the freedom that prevents one part 
from embarrassing another, (cl) hy giving the exact 
exercises to each articulation ivhich are demanded hy its 
physiological structure ; (5) hy giving such exercises to 
each articulated part as will cause it to act in harmony 
with all the other articulated jjarts of the hody. Not 
only must these articulations themselves be free, but 
there must be established or developed a harmonious 
movement between the different parts that are joined 
by these articulations. This harmony always exists 
naturally, but needs education. The action of the 

20 



muscles assists the arteries in the distribution of blood 
throughout the system ; therefore there can be no 
constriction of any muscle without embarrassing the 
heart's action, though not always to an appreciable 
degree. 

The third object sought is economy of force, or, in 
other words. La maximum of result ivith a minimum of 
effort. ) How much force is unnecessarily expended by a 
pei^on whose physique is uncultivated ! He is every 
day expending the force of two or three men to do the 
work of one. The Greek could so move that, with a 
minimum of force, he could attain gigantic results. It 
is this that made him the best soldier in the world, when 
he would fight. Csesar himself was a copyist of the 
Greeks in this respect ; during forty years he spared no 
pains in cultivating his body to the last possible degree, 
and that practice gave him his great agility. He could 
labor many hours more than any other man, because 
there was so little friction in the body. This l^igli 
physical condition is attained, first, by practising mch 
attitudes of the person as are in harmony with the law of 
gravitation^ thereby overcoming the resistance of the iv eight 
of any part. One can never step out of the hand of 
gravitation ; it is working for him or against him all 
the time. If he works with it, it works for him with 
an infinite power ; if he works against it, it crushes him 

21 



as if it were an iron hand of fate. An important end 
songht and attained by a faithful practice of our 
exercises is the securing of proper poise or oneness with 
this universal law. Poising brings perfect obedience to 
the law of gravitation, secures infinite reinforcement, 
and a suggestion of power and self-command. All 
physical powers seem controlled in the grasp of the 
sovereign will. Poise stands for strength. Weakness 
takes a braced and constrained attitude. Poise is a 
gymnastic of the nervous system ; it strengthens the 
cerebellum. Poise gives presence and secures ease. 
There is no rigidity in the cultivated body. If it 
moves, its movements will be soft as music. 

Again, we must develop due relationship hettveen 
different groups of muscles. Now, here come the most 
delicate of all the exercises in physical culture, — 
those which require the most careful attention, and, 
in all probability, bring the highest results. Our 
muscles are not all snarled together, as they might 
appear to be, to the novice examining them. Different 
groups of muscles beai a certain relation to each other. 
The muscles of the arm and neck are so related that 
if the arm is raised the muscles of the neck are 
affected. In this w^e have an illustration of reflex 
action, that law of the body by which the exercise 
of certain muscles causes other muscles in physiological 



relationship with them to move also ; for there is a 
natural reflex action from muscular sense, as well as 
from the stimulation applied by experimenters in vivi- 
section. If the neck be held rigid, normal response 
through the law of reflex action has been prevented, 
and an undue exercise has been given to the muscles 
of the neck. Such an exercise a child would never 
use at its play. In nearl}^ all muscular exercises that 
are taught, there is indication of a lack of knowledge 
on this subject of the relation Avhich the muscles 
sustain to each other. The true object is not to see 
how much exercise a person can take ; it is to secure 
accurate, physiological and educational exexcise. 
(pearly all the muscles act in groups. 1 Thus, in tlie 
universe, nature gives a system by itself, but it relates 
that system to other systems. It A^'as once thought 
that outside of our solar system there was no 
other system of planets. Noav ^ye believe that the 
number of systems is countless as the fixed stars. But 
there is a proper relationship existing in the universe 
between these different solar or planetary systems. 
If that relationship should cease for the millionth 
part of a second, the consequence would be the 
destruction of our planetary system throughout. But 
that relationship is secure ; in our bodies it is not so. 
There is a separate group of muscles that governs the 



arm, but that group acts in relation to another group, 
and that to yet another. Now there is a delicate 
relationship between those different groups ; and that 
relationship must be developed through the securing 
of proper reflex action, or there is inharmony in the 
body, great friction, great wear of parts. It is just as 
if, in a watch, two wheels were held so near together 
as to hinder each other ; the watch would go wrong 
because of that friction. So it is when different 
groups of muscles do not act in harmony with each 
other, — when the relationship between them is not 
properly developed and obeyed. Development of this 
relationship, prevents undue waste of muscular tissue. 
One may say : Does not physiology teach that we 
must waste the tissues ? " Certainly, but outside of 
certain limits one must not go. 

C Development of this relationship of the muscles prevents 
undue nervous tension.^) Now, when no proper relation- 
ship exists between two contiguous groups of muscles, 
there is a nervous tension exerted unduly, upon both 
groups, causing the one group to hold itself stiffly in 
resistance to the other, and making it necessary for 
the second group to overcome the resistance of the 
first. 

Our next object is beauty. The Greek sculptors have 
shown us what God meant physically when he created 

24 



[ 

man. Beauty and healtli cannot be clivorcecl. That 
which produces health produces beauty; that which 
produces beauty will produce health. I wish to make 
the claim emphatic, that beauty is one of the objects 
sought by our system of physical culture, because that 
which I claim as one of the chief excellencies of this 
system, is the very thing that some people say is its 
fault. Let us examine this ground. One of the most 
important functions of muscular exercise, is to assist 
the arterial systenO The heart, unaided, cannot per- 
form all the work of carrying the blood through the 
system. The heart is assisted b}' the arteries, and 
they are prompted to healthy exercise by the effect 
produced upon them by the muscles when in action. 
The arteries can be ctssisted by any muscular exercise. 
KAny form of exercise is better than no form at all, 
but I believe those motions the most helpful, wliicli 
are at the same time the most beautiful. All nature's 
lines are curved lines. The curved line is the line 
of beauty. All our exercises are in curved lines. I 
believe that a curved movement assists more than an 
angular one or one that is made in a straight line. 
There seems to be a prevalent belief that the uglier 
the exercise the more beneficial it is. That aspect 
reminds me of what a man said once in an audience. 
He called my attention to some one who was present. 



and said : " There is a good man." " How do you 
know?" I said, "are you acquainted with him?" 

No," he replied, "but he is so ugly he must be good." 
It seems as if this notion prevailed in matters of 
physical culture. It is sometimes so ugly that it must 
be good. Why can a movement not be beautiful and 
helpful at the same time ? If there be a physiological 
reason for it, I have yet to find it. To my understand- 
ing, every physiological reason is against it. The 
movements of the Greeks were beautiful, and no other 
nation ever cultivated the physique as they did. 
Other things being equal, the slower the movement 
for most exercises, the greater the result ! Notice the 
feeble man. If he is compelled to make a movement, 
he does it with a jerk. He cannot raise his arm slowly 
and steadily at the same time. There is a jerk in his 
walk. These jerks indicate his weakness. If jon see 
a man full of jerks, physically, you always believe there 
is something physically weak in the man. Jerks, then, 
are a sign of weakness. 

And yet what we claim to be one of the excellencies 
of our system is said to be a fault ! I appeal to com- 
mon-sense ; — is beauty a fault ? The druggist finds 
even the counterfeit of beauty in great demand. Like 
everything else, the markets have tried to monopolize 
beauty, and, for a few cents, one may buy something to 

26 



make her look exceedingly liandsome, Avitli ruby lips 
and rosy cheeks. Ah, but go to the fountain, and 
drink ! Nature asks no money. God has a way of 
developing beauty outside of tlie druggist's shop. 
When one can make the world believe that beauty is 
not a valuable thing, he has reached the extent of 
deception, for that will be the greatest of all. Would 
one like to live in a world devoid of beauty? 
Whenever our system of physical culture has been 
exhibited, there have always been physical culture 
critics present, Avho said they liked it very well, 
all but one thing, — it Avas " too beautiful." We intend 
it shall be beautiful. Ugly exercises never developed 
beauty, and they never developed the true perfection 
of health. 

What does beauty include ? It includes, first, 
unity. Without unity there is no beauty. Some people 
have said that beauty is only skin deep. There never 
was a greater mistake. Beauty is more than skin 
deep. If one Avill tell me how deep soul depths are, I 
Avill tell him hoAV deep beauty is. The beautiful face 
and the beautiful form have been developed doAvn the 
ages from beautiful impulses of the soul. There is 
not a handsome face in the world to-day, that does not 
owe its inheritance to beautiful impulses that existed 
in the bosoms of its ancestors. There may be beautiful 

27 



faces to-day which are masks for evil thoughts ; there 
may be beautiful faces which, instead of being the 
facades of temples of worship, are the fagades of dens 
of thieves ; but let these evil conditions continue, and 
the face slowly but surely loses its charms. Something 
gave that fine outline of brow, and chiselled nose, and 
sweet mouth. Something, we know not when nor 
where, but it existed in the hearts of the predecessors 
of the person who owns the face. From ugliness 
comes ugliness. From beauty of soul, by-and-by, down 
the ages somewhere, comes beauty of face and beauty 
of form. Beaut}^ is a sign that there is good some- 
where. Wlien is a face really beautiful? Why, 
when each feature, and the parts of each feature, 
are in harmony with each other. What gives beautiful 
expression ? Unity of expression. When the expres- 
sion of all parts of the face combine in one common 
unity, then we have positive beauty of expression ; and 
it was from beauty of expression that beauty of the 
features was developed, somewhere and at some time. 
There never was a beautiful effect without a beautiful 
cause. Men do not gather grapes from thistles. Men 
do not drink sweet water from a bitter fountain. 
Plato says : " Are not goodness and beauty some- 
what ? " What is unity ? The ivJiole expressed in each j 
of the parts. ^ Unity is the criterion of beauty. Art 

28 



delights, only in the ratio that the law of unity is 
obeyed. In the Greek statue there is a line of con- 
tinuity throughout each part, associating it with every 
other part, so that all confirm each. In the best of 
the Greek statues the spirit which the artist intended 
to reveal is manifested in every part of the figure, so 
that each part repeats what every other part expresses. 
The more perfect the unity, the more perfect the 
illusion of life, until the beholder is moved to say : 
" That statue speaks ! " Our physical exercises obey 
the law of unity. Our system is the only one that 
even pretends to obey this law. There is no other 
system of exercises, — there is no form of manual labor 
that educates all muscles harmoniously. We keep 
before us the whole man. ( Every part must be exer- 
cised in reference to the whole. The gymnasium 
works with parts. We work with parts in vital relation 
to the whole. When a part moves, other parts must 
respond harmoniously. Hundreds of bones and muscles 
are to be moved by a single impulse, to one purpose. 
We aim to produce perfect action of the parts in 
relation to the whole. 

We aim for beauty, then, because it includes so 
much. It includes, first, unity ; second, it includes 
power; third, it insures endurance, because in unity of 
action there is little friction. Therefore a person 

29 



whose movements are beautiful can move without 
fatigue much longer than a person whose movements 
are ugly. If one wants to rob a person of his power of 
endurance let him teach him to move in an ugly 
manner. Look at pictures of ugly exercises which 
appear as bad as the pictures of some of the 
victims on the rack during the Spanish inquisition, — 
(for some of these pictures do much resemble them), — 
then ask, Can beauty come out of such exercises ? 
Why can it not? Because we know that a beautiful 
movement is a movement that is free from friction, — a 
movement in which all the powers of the body 
are united as one by the realizing of a common 
purpose. 

Finally, beauty involves self-command, \ which is 
shown in this harmony of the j)arts. Of what value 
is a mighty arm — of what value a front like Mars, 
if one cannot use them, if one cannot make the powers 
of body assist each other to the realizing of a common 
aim? We claim that these exercises not only develop 
beauty of movement, but also that they develop 
beauty of form. They do not develop great tumor- 
like bunches of muscles in one pai^ and cause great 
depressions or impoverishment of the tissues in other 
parts. There is, on the contrary, harmony in and 
between all the parts from centre to periphery. 

30 



These different exercises, again, follow each other 
in such consecutive order as to secure obedience to the 
physiological law which can be phrased thus : from rest 
to climax^ from climax to rejjose. ' Exercises should be 
begun gently. The utmost power should be put forth 
at the middle of the exercises, and the latter part be 
less strong. One should never start suddenly in ex- 
ercise. What is the record in regard to animals ? 
How many horses have fallen dead when suddenly 
started from a walk I Again, how many have fallen 
dead when suddenly stopped at the height of speed! 
The same facts are true of men. About two years ago 
a gentleman ran to catch a train ; he caught the train, 
stopped, and dropped dead. It was not the running 
that killed him ; it was not the vigor of the exercise ; 
it was the sudden stopping that killed him. We 
lay stress upon three directions for exercises, viz., 
slowness, 2?recision and definite aim. This system is 
constituted of exercises that are related to each other, 
and inhere in the principle that governs them all. 
They are like the parts of a vital organism ; one 
exercise acts directly upo-n the others, and the exercises 
follow each other in logical and progressive order. If 
one -^arts from rest too suddenly it tries the heart. 
Sometimes it brings on aneurism, or difficulty in the 
great aorta, or some other artery, occasionally producing 

31 



sudden death. On tlie other hand, if one is acting up 
to his highest power and stops suddenly, the danger is 
almost as great as in starting too suddenly. 

The question has arisen : Is music valuable as an 
accompaniment to physical exercise. Unqualifiedly, yes. 
Music acts upon the nervous system in a mysterious 
way. It is valuable, and, for the highest ends of cul- 
ture, invaluable and absolutely necessary. Right here 
we find a law in psychology. All psychologists agree 
in saying that unity is developed from feeling ; — that 
a writer whose literary productions are marked by 
unity, obtains that unity from his feelings, and not 
from his judgment nor from any intellectual faculties. 
They say it is absolutely impossible for the intellect to 
write according to the laws of unity in composition, 
but that feeling will always develop unity far beyond 
what the judgment can even dictate, to say nothing of 
realizing. Now, one great object of these exercises is 
unity. The impulse of feeling which music can give 
will help one to realize that unity. Thus we might 
say logically, music appeals to feeling^ and from feeling 
springs unity. 

Again, this system of physical culture develops the 
relationship of mind to body., and is^ therefore, psycho- 
physical culture. The exercises are such as express in 
due order the four grand attributes of the human soul. 

32 



These attributes, which are expressed in all normal 
movements of the body, are life^ manifest in conscious- 
ness^ affection^ intelligence and ivill. These qualities of 
the soul have legitimate channels of expression. They 
have natural channels of expression in the tones of the 
voice, and they have natural channels of expression in 
the movements of the body. The body is generally so 
constricted that the intellect, if ever so active, cannot 
express itself through the body, and although the 
body is the natural servant of the intellect, when 
contracted into the rebellious servant it will not 
respond to the intellect. This misrepresentation of 
the soul by the body is so common that many persons 
possessed of loving and benign hearts have bodies 
which, in their attitudes and movements, express 
direct antagonism to the law of affection. A Christian 
heart cannot express itself through a savage body. God 
gave the soul a body and said to it^ Speak through 
the body." All the movements, then, in this system 
of physical culture, are expressions of some one or of 
a combination of these attributes, which should guide 
the soul in human conduct. These great attributes 
were intended to give man life, affection, intelligence, 
will ; but man has perverted them until Ave have sick- 
ness in the place of life, hatred in the place of love, 
ignorance in the place of intelligence, and weakness in 



the place of will. So it is with the body. There are 
souls that are partially divorced from their bodies, while 
yet they dwell in them ; that is to say, they are divorced 
from them so far as soul manifestations through the body 
are concerned. For illustration, take a person who has ^ 
cultivated the intellect at the expense of the body. I 
have seen, sometimes, in the physical movements of 
great students a resemblance to semi-idiocy. Giant 
faculty has starved the rest of the organism. Why is 
that so if the body is intended by its Maker to express 
intelhgence? It is because the body has not been 
commensurately developed. The result may not be 
seen in an enfeeblement of the intellectual activities, 
but the wrath that comes in consequence of a violated 
law deals with the violator personally. It is the body 
in this case that has sinned, and as it refuses to obey 
the intellect, punishment swift and sure seizes it ; 
and thus we have giant intellect imprisoned in a debil- 
itated body. We must educate the body with reference 
to the soul. The old tradition of Beauty and the 
Beast has a deep moral significance. What a mon- 
strosity would it be for the Beast (the Body) to ride 
Beauty (the Soul I) When we come to the last 
analysis, we find that the only legitimate office of the 
body is to express the soul, until 



84 



" The tongue be framed to music, 

And the hand be armed with skill, 
The face be the mould of beauty, 
And the heart the throne of will." 

The claim is sometimes made that the mind should 
not work in physical culture. This may be an 
excuse for those who have no minds. If we watch an 
idiotic child at play, we will observe that he does not 
play according to any definite plan. How is it with 
intelligent children ? John says to James, " Come, let 
us play ' hide and seek.' " The game has its laws, and 
how definitely and enthusiastically those boys play, 
even though they are playing the game for the five 
hundredth time ! It is said that children do not like 
repetitions. Look at them playing ball day after da}', 
week after week, month after month. Cultivated and 
uncultivated people play alike ; the refined and the 
unrefined will play lawn tennis day after day, and 
will become mad with delight in the game, doing the 
same thing over and over again ; yet it is said, " playing 
has no mind in it." Now, Avhat is playing, carried to 
its last analysis ? Playing is allowing the body to obey 
the monitions of the will. Whenever the body is 
following the dictates of the mind, one feels that he is 
playing. Play stands over against drudge r}^ and slavery 
of movement. Wh}- do I not like to work ? Because 

35 



ordinary labor is servitude. Why is it slavery? 
Because I am working for a dollar a day ? Oh iio, but 
because I am doing something for a dollar, and not 
doing something because my soul prompts the doing of 
it ! But if I were doing that which my soul prompts, 
it Avould be play, and I should rejoice in the plaj'. 

Tills leads us up to the last grand principle which all 
this suggests, — that the body of man Avas not made 
for the lower walks of life alone, nor for itself alone. 
In the lowest walks of life it has to work steadily and 
constantly to maintain itself ; in the higher walks of 
human nature the body rises to the grand stature of a 
man in the spirit who obej'S instinctively the high 
behests of the soul. The body becomes happy, the 
body becomes healtliy, the body becomes graceful, the 
body becomes beautiful, when the great attributes 
of the soul flow through it unhindered. The soul is 
not sick and the mind is not sick if the proper relation- 
ship exists between the human being and his Creator. 
When these attributes of the mind pour themselves 
down through the beautiful channels of the physical 
organism, the physical organism is not sick ; and 
I absolutely believe, from the best of testimony, and 
not as an abstract theory, that if man would main- 
tain and develop the relation between the highei' 
qualities of his soul — intelligence, will, affection, life, — 

36 



and the Author of the soul ; and then, wouhl maintain 
the j)roper relationship between these attributes of 
the soul and the body in its movements, there would 
be no sickness. But,'' says one, do you not agree 
with some who say that sickness is a concept of the 
mind ? " Xo, I do not. Disease is a positive fact in 
the world, and it takes many forms. Animals have 
it. They had it in this world before man existed. 
We find cases of disease in the fossil remains of 
animals that existed before man. Disease was upon 
earth then. Therefore, disease may come from ten 
thousand sources ; but over and above the animal 
stands the soul of man, and Avhile that soul may 
not bring by an}' false concept all the diseases of the 
bod}', it is a mighty resource to call upon in restoring 
the body when it is sick. A health}^ spirit will not 
long cany around a sick body. It Avill either cure 
it or cast it off. But tlie spirit must act according 
to definite methods. It is not merely that I imagine 
mj^self well, and that, therefore, I am well. It is that 
I become well by lifting the soul into the realms of 
goodness, of beauty, of truth, of pulsating divine life, 
and then practising methods of exercise for the bod}^ 
that will invite those beneficent impulses to pass into 
and through it. Away with tlie physical culture that 
makes the body the drudge and the slave ! Practise 

37 



tlie physical culture that lifts the body until one might 
really sa}' that the body thinks, — until every fibre 
of its being shall pulsate under the inspiring touch of 
thought. ]\Ien say to us, ''Why, tliis system is very 
good for developing grace, but it is not Avhat we 
AA'ant for the average man and woman/' But do we 
not want our children to become beautiful, to become 
healthy, — to carr}^ themselves as though tlie}^ Avere 
the sons of God, and not the sons of a slave ? These 
are universal demands. 

We do not need to contend for tliis culture, because 
\ye knoAA^ tliat the demand for it is deep-seated, — 
seated in the very joints and marroAv of the human 
physical economy : seated also in the human soul ; and 
I know it is ouIa' a question of time AA'hen there shall 
go up a universal cry from all parts of the earth, 
" GiA^e us a system of physical culture that frees the 
body, and subordinates it to the highest uses of the 
soul, — that develops beauty, giA^es strength and 
endurance. We plead not for it ; aa^c urge it not. 
The ancients belieA^ed that angry fates had determined 
certain things. I belieA^e that the laAA^s of nature, 
Avliich are the angels of the Most High, and obe}' His 
mandates, are rolling on the time Avhen '^ the child shall 
die a hundred A'ears old,''* AA'hen sickness shall fade 

*Isaiali Ixv., 20. 
88 



from tlie world and with it tire sins of the soul. Then 
men shall stand up with no sickness in the body, and 
no taint of sin in the soul. " Now are we sons of God, 
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be." My 
hope for the human race is bright as the morning star, 
for a glory is coming to man such as the most inspired 
tongues of prophets and of poets have never been 
able to describe. The gate of human opportunity is 
turning on its hinges, and light is breaking through its 
chink ; possibilities are opening, and human nature is 
pushing forward toward them. I believe in the divine 
fulfilment of man's destiny. I belicA^e that a crown is 
developing within him ; and when it shines upon his 
brow it will not be a crown put there as a master 
might put one upon a slave, but a crown coming up 
in wreaths of splendor from his own soul and body. 
The crown comes from God, but He develops it through 
the righteousness of man. " Thenceforth there is laid 
up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not 
to me only, but unto all them, also, that love His 
appearing." 



39 



THE EXERCISES. 



FIRST DIVISION. 



EXERCISES FOR OVERCOMING STOOP IN NECK 
AND SHOULDERS, AND FOR SECURING PERFECT 



AKE the entire weight of body upon the balls of 



1 the feet, the toes pointing ontward and describ- 
ing an angle of about sixty degrees, and heels nearly 
touching each other. Place the arms as in Fig. 3, then 
push with the hands in the direction indicated by the 
arms (at an angle of forty-five degrees with the body), 
and at the same time push up and back the crown of 
the head. Hold head and torso in the position secured 
by this exercise, and let the arms drop easily at sides. 



POISE. 



FIRST, 



EXERCISE EOR OVERCOMING STOOP. 




40 




FIGURE 2. 



By frequently practising this, the head and neck will 
finally be brought into a line with the entire spinal 
column, as seen in Fig. 1, the opposite of which is seen 
in Fig. 2. 

SECOND, EXERCISE FOR SECURING PERFECT POISE. 

In the position acquired by the above exercise, and 
with chest leading, poise the body as far forward as 
possible (without losing equilibrium), then as far back- 
ward as possible, maintaining throughout the entire 
exercise the same angle between chest and floor as in 
beginnmg. See Fig. 4. 

Now swing tlie body back to first position, rise on 
toes, descend to position, touching heels lightly upon 
the floor, rise again and hold while counting four, then 
descend sloAvly to first position. Fig. 4. 

Now take the weight upon the ball of right foot, 
heel gently touching the floor. Swing the left foot in 
a way to describe a circle around the right (Fig. 
5), then back, not allowing it to touch the floor, 
and, finally, holding it behind the strong foot, poise 
the body forward, backward, to position, etc., as upon 
both feet. 

Transfer the weight to the other foot and repeat 
exercise. 

41 



HYGIENIC VALUE OF THESE EXERCISES. 



First, — All organs in the body, especially the vital 
organs, are lifted to their proper altitude. The spinal 
• column resumes its naturally erect position, poising the 
head gracefully upon the neck, the neck rising from the 
shoulders like a classic column. 

The whole j^erson is in exact relation with the law 
of gravitation. Each part of the person is so lifted up 
from every other part as to give it perfect freedom 
to act in its own sphere. The head does not oppress 
the neck, the neck does not oppress the chest, the 
chest does not oppress the viscera, the viscera does 
not oppress the hips, the hips do not tax the knees 
for support, the knees do not call upon the ankles for 
undue exertion. 

The unconscious friction that takes place in persons 
not cultivated by proper exercises is alarming. It 
undermines the constitution and invites disease in every 
part, as a penalty for violating the law of freedom in 
unity^ toward which the law of physiological relation- 
ship everywhere in the human economy tends. 

It is a demonstrated fact that no organ will fully 
perform its function while in a position below its 
normal altitude. I have never seen a case of chronic 
dyspepsia or torpidity of liver in which the organs 

42 




FIGURE 3. 



were in tlieir proper place. As soon as they are 
habitually carried at their normal altitude, these 
diseases and all consequent upon them cease. 

Second, — ■ These exercises exert a powerful effect in 
strengthening the nerve centres, and harmonizing all 
the nerve forces, even to the extent of curing partial 
paralysis. 

The nerves which sustain the vital organs are 
relieved from undue, exertion, and the perfect self- 
command required in poising with such nicety, har- 
monizes the nerve action. All nerve force is thereby 
properly directed, the habit of too much activity, which 
results in such a misery of unrest, is commanded, and 
repose, which prevents overwaste of nerve tissue, is 
secured. 

ESTHETIC VALUE. 

The chief noticeable result, sesthetically considered, 
is that appearance of person termed good presence. 
The unity, dignity and ease manifested in one while 
in repose, are of the most potent and subtle nature. 
It is presence which seems to tell what the individual 
is in his essential being. What a person is affects us 
much more than Avhat he does. He who is perfectly 
poised suggests great moral weight, 

43 



All grace and beauty of bearing and movement 
depend primarily upon obedience to the following laws : 

EQUILIBRIUM AND MUSCULAR SENSE. 

The first laAv is obeyed in obtaining right relations 
with the earth. Again, it is obeyed in lifting up the 
parts of the person so that there is a diffusion of 
energy throughout the entire system, each ]3art con- 
tributing its required share, thereby giving the effect 
of ease in force, Avhich is power. 

The second law is obeyed in maintaining perfect 
poise of body while standing upon one foot, and 
the climax is reached in poising upon the toes of that 
foot ; for all poise is maintained, not alone by will or 
knowledge of how -to poise, but by muscular sense. It 
is by a highly developed muscular sense that the trapeze 
performer balances with such beauty and accuracy on 
the rope ; and a Blondin walks a wire above Niagara, 
carrying another man with perfect safety from shore to 
shore. It is a fine muscular sense which enables all 
celebrated performers of this description to walk with 
such ease, dignity and grace. 



44 




FIGURE 4. 



MUSCLES INVOLVED. 



The harmonious activity of so many muscles is such 
that no one can be said to lead. There is an elastic 
activity of all the large muscles of legs, trunk, and 
neck. 



45 



SECOND DIVISION. 



EXERCISES FOR HIPS, WAIST, CHEST, AND NECK. 3 



FIRST, — Correct standing position, with tips of 
lingers resting lightly upon the shoulders. 
Now, take the weight entirely upon one foot, and by 
a slow, steady movement send the hip corresponding 
with strong foot, out at the side as far as possible, not 
allowing the chest to sway, but using it as a strong 
centre, as if the hips were to revolve about it. Keep 
the shoulders level. When the person is in this posi- 
tion he is much below his normal height. See Fig. 6. 

Next glide the weight from one foot to the other 
without rising. This is accomplished by bending the 
knee of tlie strong leg Avhile straightening the other, 
and, at the same time, sending out the opposite hip. 

At the medium point in gliding from one foot to the 
other, the knees are equally bent. Repeat this exercise 
and return to position. 

46 





FIGURE 5. 



HYGIENIC VALUE. 



The physical benefit to be derived from this exercise 
is ill overcoming that friction in walking which ex- 
hausts the back and stomach; also in exercising the 
muscles across the stomach in a way to strengthen and 
jDromote its activity, and thereby develop the unity of 
action between those muscles Avhich play upon and 
move tlie stomach and aid in the peristaltic wave, and 
those of the legs, so that whenever the individual 
walks, or stands upon one foot in ever so unconscious 
a manner, a direct quickening of the digestive forces 
will take place. 

By this habit the exercise which wastes the tissues 
will, at the same time, develop the vital supply. 

ESTHETIC VALUE. 

The secret of grace in walking lies in this : that the 
legs and hips are made to serve the chest instead of 
being allowed to lead it. This gives the feeling that 
the moral and intellectual powers of the soul govern 
the passions, while the too common and vulgar 
manner of walking conveys a feeling of uncertainty, 
and that the person is not controlled by what is best 
within him. 

4Y 



There are three modes of walking' with reference to 
the hips. 

First, — An easy movement which allows a slight 
play of the hips while the chest keeps its position so 
reposefnlly that if the person was seen clown as far as 
the waist only, he would seem to be sailing in a boat 
upon a smooth river. I have borrowed this figure from 
the tradition concerning Buddha which tells us that 
when he was walking, unless one could see his person 
below the waist line, he seemed to be sailing in a boat 
on a smooth river. We do not claim that this exercise 
alone will produce the ideal walk, but it develops the 
first conditions, viz., a strong chest and free hips. 

Second, — One can swing the body with the hip, 
giving the movement usually termed rolling gait." 

Third, — The hips may be held stiffiy, and at the 
same time no roll take place in the upper part of the 
body ; but to prevent this vulgar sway, one Avould be 
obliged to attract attention to the rigidity manifested 
throughout his whole person. 

The natural office of beauty is to indicate goodness, 
and this is the reason why we instinctively feel at- 
tracted to strangers of graceful movements, and are as 
strongly repelled by those who are awkward. 



48 




FIGURE 6. 



PRINCIPAL MUSCLES IJ^VOLVED. 



The diaphragm, all the abdominal muscles, including 
the intro-abdominal, the iliacus, anterior femoral, and 
muscles connecting thigh with hip and knee. 



EXERCISE FOR FREEING AND STRENGTHENING 
SIDES. 

Place thick of hand upon floating ribs, merely as a 
guide to the mind, not to assist the muscular effort ; 
draw the sides as near together as possible, as in Fig. 
7, then send them as far apart as possible, as in Fig. 8. 
Repeat this movement, and then alloAv the arms to fall 
at sides. During this exercise a perfectly upright 
position is to be maintained ; the body is not to bend 
in the slightest degree. 



HYGIENIC VALUE. 

The exercise gives great activity to the stomach by 
causing it to fall and rise as it does during the respira- 
tion of very powerful men and women. It carries this 
needed motion to much greater extent than can be 

49 



accomplished in breathing except bj the most gigantic 
persons. It is a verj- vigorous exercise of the most 
powerful muscles of respiration. The will is exerted 
exclusively in moving the sides, no thought being 
given to respiration, Avhich takes its own automatic 
course in accord with the movement. It develops 
greater breathing capacity, and gives more freedom to 
the vital organs. 



ESTHETIC VALUE. 



The appearance of narrowness of feeling and con- 
straint of manner offends the taste. Intuitive taste 
always demands in appearance what moral philosophy 
demands of character. Moral sentiment requires s^^m- 
pathy and magnanimity, and good taste requires their 
expression. The aesthetic sense is made up mostly of 
feeling ; it does not reason upon truth and goodness, 
it feels them. It is influenced in such a subtle way 
that one usually fails to recognize the cause. By care- 
ful observation I have been led to believe that the 
sides appeal to the feelings of sympathy and mag- 
nanimity, either attracting, repelling, or neutralizing 
them. The effect is not produced by their breadth 
or narrowness, but Iw their freedom or restraint. 



50 




FIGURE 7. 



PRINCIPAL MUSCLES INVOLVED. 

Serratus magnus, Intercostal, Diapliragin, and Ab- 
dominal. 



EXERCISE FOB DEVELOPING GAMUT OF CREST, 
PERPENDICULARLY. 

Take a good standing position, place the ends of 
fingers lightly in region of third rib, (as seen in Fig. 
9) lower the chest at this point as much as possible 
by an effort of the will, allowing every other part 
of the body to accommodate itself to this attitude. 
Now lift the chest directly up towards the chin, as 
seen in Fig. 10. As a consequence, the shoulders 
come back to place, the spine becomes erect, the 
crown of the head rises to its utmost height. Repeat 
this exercise, then take normal position. 

HYGIENIC VALUE. 

The exercise deepens the capacity of the chest, 
furnishing more room for the lungs ; gives powerful 
exercise to all the muscles that control the ribs, and 
strengthens all the muscles that hold the internal organs 

51 



in their proper places. I cannot state with satisfactoiy 
emphasis the importance of keeping all the organs 
contained in the trnnk of the body, in their proper 
positions. While this exercise attracts attention to 
the thorax only, it is an exercise of snch extensive 
reach, as to canse all the muscles of the trunk to move 
in harmonious unison. 

It exercises the muscles of the trunk in such a man- 
ner as to invigorate the vital organs. While the main 
source of this activity is in the nerves which furnish 
the stimulant to these organs, the proper exercise of 
the muscles that surround them and hold them in 
place, exerts an influence that assists their activit}^ in 
two ways, by moving the organs, and by reflex action 
upon the nerves that supply them. 

When the lungs are sufficiently liigh, by means of a 
well-elevated chest, what is termed thoracic breathing, 
as distinguished from diaphragmatic breathing, is never 
practised, because one cannot get satisfaction. In 
normal respiration the diaphragm descends during in- 
spiration and ascends during expiration, the abdominal 
muscles moving consistent with it. This not only 
causes the lungs to fill, but by the continuous move- 
me]it of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles the 
organs below the diaphragm, as well as above, are kept 
in constant motion, thereby promoting a free circulation 

52 




FIGUREIO. 



and aiding digestion very materially. Little children 
always breathe in this manner, and so do the adults 
of the strongest races, and also strong individuals of 
both sexes in all races. Some physiologists teach that 
this method of breathing is not, normally, continued 
by females after the years of puberty. We answer 
simply, that it is always continued by the strongest 
women, and to keep up the tone of the organs below 
the diaphragm, it is necessary. Normal breathing is 
perfectly secured by keeping the chest sufficiently 
elevated. 

Keeping the chest in this position prevents all 
attempts at abdominal breathing and singing,^^ which 
many physicians know is so injurious, especially to 
females. No attempt to breathe abdominally should 
be made. Maintain a right position of chest and 
correct breathino- Avill follow as a natural conse- 
quence. All efforts to breathe correctly in a false 
position are injurious. Nature, in her infinite kind- 
ness, suits the breathing to the position, otherwise life 
would often be endangered by the simple act of 
breathing. In nature, function is according to form, 
and form is according to use. 



53 



.ESTHETIC VALUE. 



This exercise joins with others in(enlarging the bust^ 
and producing delicate lines about the lower part of the 
waist^uch as the use of the corset seeks to effect, and 
of which it gives a counterfeit at the sacrifice of beauty 
elsewhere. 

We may be sure that if among civilized people 
an artificial custom is retained a long time, it points 
toward some need that would produce beauty, and 
therefore health. 

Women, and sometimes men, liave for hundreds of 
years, used artificial means to cause fulness of bust and 
delicacy of the lower waist line. The mind holds that 
form as an ideal of beauty. The ideal is natural and 
true. It did not spring from false custom, but grew 
out of the very structure of the mind. No amount of 
preaching can uproot it. No penalty, thundered by 
refoimers into the ears of young ladies, can change their 
conduct in this matter. They sometimes see a com- 
panion die, and hear the attending physician say that 
death was caused by tight lacing, but, as if moved by 
the hand of fate, they continue in tlie same habit, and 
seem to say, " I would rather die than not to appear 
beaiitifuh*' From a study of the history and habits of 
the human race it is very evident that there is nothing 

54 




FIGURE I I. 



else for which human benigs are so willing to suffer as 
they are for beauty. This is not owing to perversity 
in human nature. If we look deep enough we shall 
see that this love of being beautiful springs from an 
innate desire to be perfect. Beauty is the natural 
sign of truth and goodness. Poor humanity is often 
mistaken in legard to the method by Avhich truth and 
good are obtained. 

Let us cease this war of words against corsets, for 
when true physical culture has developed the bust, and 
given the corresponding waist line, the instinctive 
desire for beauty will cause all to turn aAvay from 
the false method to the true, and corsets and all like 
inquisitorial machines of torture will take then* places 
in the museum of antiquities, beside the rack and 
thumb-screws of the Spanish Inquisition ; one showing 
the sacrifice and suffering of humanity consequent 
upon its search for pure religion ; the other, what it 
endured in its desire to attain beauty. Superstition 
dies a natural death when true religion comes, and 
perverted fancy expires in the light of natural beauty. 

Another point of beauty Avhich this exercisq^helps to 
develop is a good voice^ It strengthens those muscles 
Avhich condense the air in the lungs, and thereby gives 
fulness and evenness of tone. Surely voice culture 
should be included in physical culture, and was so 

55 



included by the Greeks and Romans. A person with a 
sweet and rich voice always seems beautiful though 
possessing ugly features. 



PRINCIPAL MUSCLES INVC^LVED. 

Triangularis sterni, Pectoralis major, Pectoralis 
minor, Sterno cleido mastoid, Trapezius, Serratus 
magnus, Erecto spinae, and Subclavius. 



EXEBCISE FOR WAIST. 

Place thick of hand on top of liips, fingers pointing- 
downward, thumbs forward; continue tliis position 
throughout the exercise : bring the thighs a little for- 
ward ; bend that part of the body f or^^'ard which is 
above the ensiform cartilage (see Fig. 11) : do not let 
thiglis or hips move from the first position jow give 
them, but continue bending the body, following the 
arc of a true circle around to right side (see Fig. 12), 
then to front, then around to left side, then front, then 
right, then to left again, then to right and around to 
back (see Fig. 13), and continue around to front, tlien 
turn to left and go entirely around to front, then lift 
the body gracefully to position. 

56 



FIGURE 12. 



This exercise, like all the others, should be taken 
slowly, strongl}-, and with precision. 

Too great a pressure will come upon the back unless 
the thighs are kept far forward. If any unpleasant 
sensation is experienced in the back it is because the 
thighs are not in the right position when rotating the 
body backward. Let the shoulders, with upper part 
of chest leading, describe as large and true a circle 
as possible. Allow the head to follow the chest, with 
neck relaxed. 



HYGIENIC VALUE. 



All the contents of the viscera, but more especially 
the stomach and liver, are seized between the abdomi- 
nal muscles and diaphragm, and pressed very strongl}" 
during all the movements that describe the front half 
of the circle, and relieved during the movements that 
describe the other half of the circle. This exercise is 
in direct obedience to the law of physiology that 
alternately contracts and relaxes throughout the human 
system, pressing and relieving by turns every part. 
All growth and strength is promoted and sustained by 
this law. It is by this mechanical pressure and relief 
that the blood circulates, the glands send forth their 
secretions, the peristaltic wave is produced, and 



tissues developed to meet special demands. If pressure 
is continued upon any part atrophy is the consequence ; 
but by pressure and relief following each other in 
reasonably rapid succession the part is made stronger 
and more vigorous. This is the effect produced upon 
the vital organs by this exercise., and thereby more and 
better blood is manufactured. All exercises should be 
aimed primarily at producing more health. It is the 
vital organs that produce the substance of life, health 
and strength. This exercise is for the especial purpose 
of acting upon these organs in a manner to quicken 
and strengthen them. The physiological cry is for 
good and abundant material to make into muscle, nerve, 
tendon, bone, brain and every other tissue. It is the 
vital organs that must furnish all this material. There- 
fore, instead of aiming all our gymnastic work towards 
developing mighty muscles, which are a great and 
constant drain upon the vital organs, tlie main object in 
ph3'sical culture should be tlie care of tlie organs from 
which the fountain of life flows. In this exercise many 
of the most powerful muscles are being strengthened, 
and are, at the same time, using all their strength to 
develop into higher and healthier activity the vital 
organs. Tliis exercise frees and develops the articu- 
lation of the thorax with tlie viscera. No such 
articulation is named in anatomy, neither can it be 




FIGURE 13 



I 

FIGURE 14. 



discovered by dissection ; still it h: easy to see tliat 
there is at the line where the diaphragm connects 
with the walls of the trnnk such dividing movements 
as resemble an articulation ; therefore I have used that 
term for convenience. This articulation is so impor- 
tant that it requires several others to do its work for 
it Avhenever it is not permitted to do its own, thereby 
causing great exhaustion in the system, and weakening 
the vital organs. 

.ESTHETIC VALUE. 

In all Greek sculpture of the entire human form 
this articulation is very apparent. To perceive its 
beauty and movements one has but to imagine it left 
out, and the cesthetic feelings will experience a shock. 
All curves in the posture and movements of the torso 
are gone, and a stiff and unsightly angularity is dis- 
covered in the place of them. The great artist 
Rubens, in the pictures he painted to express his 
ideals of abundant life and health, especially marked 
the definition of this articulation. 

PRINCIPAL MUSCLES INVOLVED. 

Abdominal, Diaphragm, Latisimusdorsi, and Ser- 
I'atus post inferior. 

59 



EXERCISE FOB FREEING THE XECK. 7 



Take an erect position. Bring tlie head forward 
and down until the chin touches the cliest, if possible, 
Fig. 14 ; carry head around to right shoulder, Fig. 15 ; 
then tip back of head on to left shoulder, face 
looking perpendicularly at ceiling, Fig. 16 ; now 
twist the head backward on the neck as severely as 
the strength will permit. Again bring chin upon right 
shoulder, and keep it close to breast wliile carrying it 
around to left shoulder, then throAv back of head on to 
riglit shoulder, then twist the liead backward as before. 
While twisting tlie head, the face and eyes should re- 
main in the same relation with ceiling. 



HYGIENIC VALUE. 



The exercise frees the circulation of the blood in 
the neck, especially at the base of the skull, where this 
need is greatest. Many experience much suffering in 
the back of the head and neck, owing to imperfect cir- 
culation in that region. This exercise is very beneficial 
to all, and especially to persons whose business calls for 
a great deal of nerve force and brain Avork, such as 
teachers, lawyers, clergymen, students, and persons 
carrying on great business enterprises . also in cases 

60 



where there is or has been any tendency to nervous 
prostration. The exercise is helpful to those who have 
ever had trouble with the head in any way. It serves 
to regulate the supply of blood that goes to the brain 
by toning up the arteries and veins that connect with 
the head and brain. 

.ESTHETIC VALUE. 

The neck exercise gives an easy poise to the head, 
taking away the appearance of limitation of intellect 
and rigidity of manner. A rigidity of neck often 
misrepresents an individual. We are obliged to judge 
of the soul by its representative, the body, until fully 
acquainted with the person, when the physical misrep- 
resentation becomes painful to us, making us feel as 
would a published slander concerning a friend. The 
people are not few whose bodies are a public libel 
upon their characters. All this could be remedied by 
this system of aesthetic physical culture. 

PRINCIPAL MUSCLES INVOLVED. 

Platysma myoid, Sterno-cleido-mastoid, Sterno-hyoid, 
Sterno-thyroid, Omo-hyoid, Thyro-hyoid, Genio-hyoid, 
Mylo-hyoid, Stylo-hyoid, Stylo-pharyngeus, Rectus cap- 

(31 



itis anticus major, Rectus capitis auticiis minor, Rectus 
capitis lateralis, Scalenus anticus, Scalenus medius, 
Scalenus posticus, Splenius capitis et colli, Traclielo- 
mastoid, Complexus, Biventer cervicis, Obliquus capitis 
superior, Obliquus capitis inferior. Rectus capitis 
posticus major. Rectus capitis posticus minor. 



62 




FIGURE 15. 



THIRD DIVISION. 



THE EXERCISE OF HEAD, ARMS AND LEGS IN THEIR 
RELATION TO THE TORSO, TO THE END OF DE- 
VELOPING AND SECURING THE VITAL UNITY OF 
MOVEMENTS AND ATTITUDES. 

IN the physiological design of the muscular system 
all the different groups of muscles are so arranged 
as to assist each other in every effort. 

If the muscles that sustain any particular member 
are called upon to perform any task, usually several 
other groups automatically volunteer their services in 
aid of the leading one. The muscles of the trunk of 
the body are, in all normal exercises, called upon to 
sustain the efforts of the upper and lower extremi- 
ties. Again, if the arms and legs are exercised in 
the right manner, such as the structure of tlie organ- 
ism demands, there is a reflex action brought to bear 
upon the muscles of the torso which increases its 
vital power. 

63 



Ill this way there is a reciprocal benefit obtained by 
the trunk of the body, and the neck, arms and legs. 
Ever}^ exercise that an arm or leg takes should 
involve, in addition to its own muscular develop- 
ment, a definite exercise of some part of the torso. 
A teacher of physical culture should ahvays become 
certain of what effect an exercise will have upon the 
trunk of the bod}^ ; the arms and legs are the natural 
servants of the body in all their physical uses. 
Movements of the arms and legs should have as 
their ultimate purpose the strengthening and vitaliz- 
ing of the torso, and should be definitely arranged to 
this end, because in the torso is the factory of life. 

Two questions, at least, are always to be asked regard- 
ing the correctness of every exercise. 

First, — What will the exercise do for the part that 
leads ? 

Second, — What will it do for tlie trunk of the body? 

The object of all the exercises in this division is first, 
to develop the trunk of the body by means of exercis- 
ing its branches : second, to develop the branches ; 
third, to establish unity between all the parts in 
accomplishing definite ends. 



64 



FIGURE 16. 



FIGURE 17. 



FIRST EXERCISE OF THE THIRD DIVISION. 



The person is supposed to maintain a perfect stand- 
ing position, as in Fig. 1, during this entire exercise. 
% Talve a full breath and hold it in the lungs by 
means of the contraction of the superior (or false) 
vocal cords. While the breath is thus held, turn 
first the right arm around, lifting it up and carrying 
it over back, thus revolving it like a wheel upon its 
axis — the shoulder representing the axis, and the arm 
the wheel, as in Fig. 17. In each rcA^olution carry 
the arm back as far as possible. Repeat this move- 
ment with the right arm, then exercise the left arm 
in the same manner, then both arms together. 

One breath may be held during the entire exercise ; 
or it is better for all but the strongest to take one 
breath and hold it, in the manner described, during 
the two revolutions of the right arm, then to exhale 
and take another breath and hold it while the left arm 
performs its revolutions, then to let out breath and 
inhale a third time, holdingf- the breath durino- the 
simultaneous revolutions of both arms. 

If dizziness should ensue, take less breath and change 
it oftener ; dizziness oftener comes, however, from not 
assuming an elastic manner than from holding the 
breath too long. 

65 



As the strength increases the breath can be held a 
longer time.* 

HYGIENIC VALUE. 

First the apexes of the lungs are filled Avith air. 
From many years of study and observation I am 
convinced that the apexes of the lungs never fill with- 
out the closing of the false vocal cords and the simul- 
taneous relaxing of the muscles of inspiration. I will 
say more of this when naming the muscles involved in 
taking this exercise. 

Consumption, as a rule, commences in the apexes of 
the lungs. The cause for this is that, for some time 
previous to the deposit of tubercles, the air cells are 
not properly filled during respiration, and therefore are, 
in a measure, collapsed, which Aveakens the walls of the 
cells until there is not sufficient tone in the tissue 
to resist a foreign deposit. Therefore tubercles are 
deposited in these debilitated walls. That is not all ; 
when the apexes of the lungs do not fill there follows, 

* Some have questioned this exercise on the ground that it may 
abnormally distend the air cells. A profounder knowledge of physi- 
ology would clear the mind of this objection. One cannot voluntarily 
hold the breath long enough to cause abnormal distention of air 
cells ; but, on the other hand, holding the breath by means of the 
superior vocal cords for a time prevents fixity of air cells, and 
quickens their contractility instead of producing distention. 

6G 



of necessity, a lack of oxygen in the l>lood, and, conse- 
quently, the blood becomes impnre, which serves to 
increase the deposit in the lungs and devitalize tlie 
whole system. 

The nervous system is to a great degree dependent 
upon oxygen for its health and vigor, and if it is 
deprived of a part of its natnral supply, it becomes 
more or less prostrated. Digestion and assimilation 
are retarded for want of a sufficient amount of natural 
stimulant, for the air that is breathed into the luno-s is 
the natural tonic required by the stomach and assimi- 
lating powers. 

We see from the foregoing that from this exercise, 
Avliile it frees and develops the muscles of the shoulder 
and arm, the chief benefit derived is healtli of the lungs 
and through them health of the whole person. That 
is not all ; life itself may depend, in many cases, upon 
the practice of this exercise. I have known some cases 
of incipient consumption to be cured by it. 

PRINCIPAL 1MUSCLK8 INVOLVED. 

PectOralis major, Pectoralis minor, Subclavius, Serra- 
tus magnns, Deltoid, Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, 
Teres major. Teres minor, Subscapularis, Coraco- 

6T 



bracliialis, Biceps flexor cubiti, Bracliialis anticus, 
Triceps extensor cubiti, Subanconius. 

We must also include all the muscles of respiration, 
both the inspiratory and expirator}^, which constitute 
at least sixteen pairs. We see by this what a vast 
number of muscles are exercised^ and that all of them 
are combined in 07ie effort to strengthen the lungs and 
through them to give vigor to every fart of the body. 

This exercise of swinging the arms in a rotary 
manner is not original with me, but doing so while 
holding the breath with the vocal cords, was first 
taught by myself, so far as I know. 

The chief value of this exercise is not in swinging 
the arm, but in exerting all these muscles foi- the 
benefit of the lungs ; therefore very little comparative 
benefit is derived from it unless tlie breath is held in 
the lungs by means of the vocal cords. 

That this subject of respiration may become clearer 
to the reader, I will explain the modus operandi of 

NORMAL BREATHING. 

When inhaling, the diaphragm, which is a muscle 
of inspiration, is contracted, and thereby lowered, the 
floating ribs are drawn away laterally, and the long 
ribs are lifted; thus by these movements on the part 

68 



of the floor and walls of the thorax, the caA'ity of the 
chest is greatly increased, so that the lungs can be made 
to hold many cubic inches of air ; but there is one thing 
to be particularly noticed, viz. : that the expansion of 
the thorax is principally at and near the base, hence 
the air will be taken into the lower parts of the lungs 
while the apexes will not fill at all during inhalation. 
When a perfectly healthy person has fully inhaled, 
the superior vocal cords close simultaneously with the 
relaxing of all the muscles of inspiration and the 
contraction of all the muscles of expiration. These 
latter muscles drive the air upward, but it cannot 
escape easily from the lungs because the superior A^ocal 
cords, by their contraction, have closed the glottis, and 
they must be driven apart b}' the air being forced up 
between them. While the breath is escaping with 
such difficulty, it will l^e driven into the apexes of the 
lungs. 

This statement may be questioned, and as I have no 
authorities to quote in reference to the fart the vocal 
cords take in healthy resi^iration^ no one ever having 
attributed this action to the superior A^ocal cords, I will 
briefly state my reasons for believing this to be their 
office. 

First, Dr. Polk and other writers upon phthisis have 
said that the air during inspiration always tends toward 

69 



the base of the kings, and that consumptive patients 
fail to fill their lungs during respiration for some time 
previous to more active symptoms. This led me to try 
to discover what causes the apexes of the lungs to fill 
in a healthy person. 

I experimented, first with a healthy puppy, and 
discovered a confirmation of tlie statement of Avriters 
on this subject, that the air during inspiration all tends 
to the base of the lungs, and that the apexes do not 
fill during inhalation. I was soon able to see, by this 
examination of the higher order of animals, that the 
apexes^ whenever fiUed^ were filled dm^iiig ex'piration of 
hreath. 

After obtaining this cue from the animals, I AA^as able 
to detect, by listening to the respiration of the human 
lungs, that the apexes Avere filled during expiration 
only. 

As yet I Avas not able to decide AAdiether it Avas the 
inferior or the superior A^ocal cords that acted in con- 
nection Avith the muscles of expiration. 

Finally, becoming acquainted Avith Dr. Cutter, Avho 
has revealed so much of the action of the larynx by 
means of his skilful use of the larAnigoscope, and 
while looking into his lar3'nx I discoA'Cred that it was 
the superior vocal cords that acted Avith the muscles of 
expiration. 

to 




FIGURE 18. 



It is evicleDt, therefore, that the superior or so-called 
" false vocal cords " have a natural use, which is so 
important that the continuation of life, for any reason- 
able time, depends upon their action. 

In many books of the past it is said that ''the use, 
if there is any, of the superior vocal cords, is not fully 
known." Some one has presented the theory that they 
have no use, but are the remains of some organ that 
was of value in the ancestry of the race. 

.ESTHETIC VALUE OP THIS EXERCISE. 

The exercise reacts upon the carriage, especially in 
giving an elastic and radiant appearance to the whole 
23erson ; for the entire exercise is of the most elastic 
class, being one that is based upon movements that 
relate to the elasticity of the air in the lungs. 



BENDING EXERCISES, 
riRST MOVEMENT. FORWARD BEND. 

^ Place the heels together, or nearly so, carrying out 
the toes so that the feet, taken together, form a right 
auQ^le. 



Take a good standing position, as in Fig. 1. Carry 
the arms up as liigh as possible, placing them each side 
of the head and pushing with the ends of the fingers in 
a way to stretch the entire person, as in Fig. 18, then 
with a sweeping forward curve, describing an arc of 
as large a circle as possible, carry the ends of the 
fingers toward the floor (Fig. 19), aiming to reach 
it as soon as the practice of this and the other 
exercises has made the body sufiicientl}^ elastic. Let 
all the joints bend that will aid in reaching the floor, 
except the knees. After holding this position a second, 
rise slowly to normal position, allowing the arms to 
fall easily at the sides of the person. If this exercise 
is taken rightly the chest will come to its correct 
position first, then the head will resume its normal 
poise. 



SECOND MOVEMENT. BACKAYARD BEND. 



I IJ Place the tips of the fingers of both hands lightly on 
the chest, as seen in Fig. 10; carry the head backAvard 
and down upon the back ; in doing this, describe with 
the head as large an arc as possible. Do not let the 
body bend, but carry the head backward until the front 
part of the neck is severely pulled, and a powerful 
stretching of the muscles is realized ; then, by bending 



FIGURE 19. 




FIGURE 20. 



the knees, allow the body to go backward and down, 
not bending the back but keeping it as straight as pos- 
sible, feeling the weight and strain in the legs only, not 
alloAying any effort to be felt in the back ; then come 
slowly up, leaving the head upon the back until the 
torso is in normal position ; when that is erect, poise 
the head and carrj^ the arms to the side. 

THIRD ZMDVEMENT. LATERAL BEXD. 

j\ Carry one arm wp over the head, as in Fig. 20, then 
bend towards opposite side from the arm raised, keep- 
ing the weight upon the foot of the same side of the 
arm that is raised, and carr3'ing the other foot directly 
out at the side in a way to form a graceful curve 
extending from shoulder to foot ; bring the body 
slowly up to position, then return head, arm and foot 
to normal position. Repeat the exercise with the 
opposite side. 

>EOURTH MOVEMENT. FORWARD DIAGONAL BEND. 

Take the same position and exercise as in forward 
movement (Fig. 19), onl}^ this time carry a hand each 
side of the toes of the right foot, instead of directly in 

73 



front of the body ; then slowly come back to position as 
before. 

^ FIFTH MOVEMENT. BACKWARD DIAGONAL BEND. 

J 

Place the ends of the fingers of both hands lightly 
upon the chest, as in Fig. 10 ; without moving the body 
carry the head back and down toAvards the left heel 
and pull the head backward in such a line as to feel a 
stretching of the neck as close to the right side of the 
trachea as is possible ; then, by allowing the knees to 
yield, bend toAvard the left heel (see Fig. 21) ; rise 
as before to position, bringing the head to position 
after the torso has its poise ; then carry the arms to 
the sides. Repeat this exercise with the opposite foot 
as guide. 

HYGIENIC EFFECT. 

This group of exercises causes such a continuous 
stretch of the muscles, from the head to the feet, and 
also throughout tlie entire length of the arms as 
searches out all the muscles that from lack of proper 
development are in any degree feeble. It develops 
great freedom and strength in the muscles throughout 
the whole system. 

74 



FIGURE 21. 



i 



No other exercises can do more to equalize the 
circulation of tlie blood through all parts of the body. 
They develop what is sometimes called " staying 
qualities," that is, they enable one to endure hardships, 
and strengthen the body in such a way as to overcome 
the sense of weakness about the waist, back, and 
stomach, which many people experience, and which 
they express by saying : " I do not feel as though I 
could hold myself up when sitting, and, therefore, I 
always feel as though I must lean on something." 

It will be observed that while one set of muscles 
is contracted to its utmost degree of power the op- 
posite set is being stretched to its greatest extent. 

Muscles cannot be developed to their highest con- 
dition by contraction alone, nor by being stretched; 
but being alternately contracted and stretched will 
cultivate them most perfectly. 

.ESTHETIC VALUE. 

Continuity of line through all parts of the person 
is obtained. There is an evenness of development 
gained in all the parts, giving roundness, fulness, and 
symmetry. 



75 



Caution : Omit this exercise until the pupil has 
practised a great deal upon all the other exercises 
given in this and the previous divisions. 

MUSCLES INVOLVED. 

All the voluntar}" muscles except those of head and 
face. 



BEACHING EXEBCISES. 
I FIRST MOVEMENT. LATERAL STRETCH. 

Take the entire weight upon one foot ; swing the 
other around the strong leg as in Fig. 5, touching 
the heel of the foot upon whicli the Aveight is placed, 
with the heel of the other; then carry free foot out at 
the side as far as you can reach with the inner edge of 
the toe Avithout swaying the body ; lift the opposite 
arm directly toward the side of the head (letting 
the hand fall passive) until head and arm meet ; 
next, depress the arm just enough to bring the palm 
of hand up so that the fingers will point upward, and 
push with the palm of the hand until you have reached 
position seen in Fig. 22 ; then come sloAvly and 

1Q 




FIGURE 22. 



FIGURE 23. 



gracefully back to position. Repeat this exercise with 
the other foot and hand. 

SECOND MOVEMENT. BACKWARD DIAGONAL STRETCH. 

Take the weight on the foot first used in the lateral 
stretch ; swing the other foot as before, this time 
touching the hollow of the strong foot with the heel of 
the free foot, forming nearly a right angle, and carry 
the free foot out in the direction the toe points, until 
the toe touches the floor as far from the other foot as 
it can be carried, being careful not to sway the body ; 
then raise the opposite arm in front, describing an arc 
as 3^ou carry it backward until it forms an angle of 
forty-five degrees Avith the head, then straighten the 
arm and push in the direction it points until the foot is 
carried from the floor and the attitude seen in Fig. 23 
is reached ; come back to normal position, allowing the 
arm to describe the same arc as it did in taking the 
position. Transfer the weight to the other foot and 
repeat the exercise. 

/ THIRD MOVEMENT. FORWARD DIAGONAL STRETCH. 

Retain the weiofht on the strono- foot used in last 
exercise •, swing the other foot, carrying it forward as 



before ; then slowly cany the entire weight forward on 
to the advanced foot, and lift the arm opposite the foot 
which extends backward, until the arm forms with the 
head an angle of forty-five degrees upward and forAvard. 
Reach with the hand as high as possible, as in Fig. 24, 
then slowly come to position, retaining the weight on 
the same foot. Repeat the exercise by swinging the 
other foot and raising the arm as before. 

In all the exercises of this set, reach until the foot 
opposite the extended arm is raised from the floor and 
completes an unbroken line from hand to foot. 



HYGIENIC A^ALUE. 



These reaching movements are powerful exercises. 
They employ all the strength of the person, and as 
strength increases, will be taken with greater force. 
They draw a line of great exertion through the entire 
length of the arm and the opposing leg, and also 
through the torso between them. In the various move- 
ments, this stretch is repeated through a different part 
of the torso, and also through different parts of the 
arms and legs. These are strong exercises for the 
extremities, but even more powerful for the trunk of 
the person. They prevent curvature of the spine, and 




FIGURE 24. 



have cured several young persons of this disease. The 
stomach is exercised with great vigor. These exercises 
give strength and power of endurance to the entire 
person. They prepare one for carrying burdens ; for 
the individual, each time he reaches in this manner, 
overcomes the resistance of opposing muscles, and, in 
addition, may put forth sufficient strength to lift his 
OAvn weight. 



ESTHETIC VALUEo 



These exercises develop symmetry, and prepare the 
body to take easily and habitually such a posture in 
standing and walking as will express a spirit of nobility 
and radiant manhood or womanhood. They cultivate 
harmou}' of action between the sides of the body. An 
aAvkward person conveys the impression that his sides 
are compelled to live near each other much against 
their wills. This appearance is not always confined to 
persons of low breeding, but is often seen in those of 
refinement of mind and morals, the reason being that 
the body, for want of physical culture, cannot express 
the condition of the life within. 

Man has a dual nature composed of feeling and 
intellect. In the finely cultured these are happily 

79 



joined, the feelings being consistent with reason ; con- 
sequently the character is beautiful. The body is an 
expression of the soul ; it, too, is dual, possessing two 
brains, two hearts (though joined), and two lungs. 
In the external form the same duality is apparent in 
its members, a right arm and leg involving right half 
of torso, left arm and leg involving left half of torso. 
In rude persons the sides seem to move as separate 
individualities. This same dual principle is manifest 
in the muscular system. The muscles, except four 
or five, are all in pairs, and are " symmetrical Avith 
reference to the median plane of the body." Feelings 
in the uncultivated are wild, and entirely unregulated 
by reason ; the intellect is cold and severe, unsoftened 
by the feelings : but in the cultivated, feeling is guided 
by reason, and reason is warmed by feeling. 

This condition of the inner being has its counterpart 
in the body, in the relation the sides sustain to each 
other in attitude and movement. Nature has created 
a demand for culture in all organic being. It is as 
necessary to educate the sides of the body in relation 
to each other, as it is to educate thought and feeling 
in their spiritual relationship. The cultivation of tlie 
latter results in Christian grace, that of the former 
in physical gracefulness^ and thereby the body becomes 



80 



a fit and beautiful medium for the expression of 
Christian grace. 



MUSCLES INVOLVED. 

Nearly all the muscles of the neck, which have been 
named in connection with the neck exercise, making 
it unnecessary to repeat them here, and the muscles 
Avhich connect shoulder and chest. All the muscles 
of the arms and legs and body. In short, all the 
voluntary muscles of the entire person, except those 
of the head and face are involved. 



EXERCISE FOB STRENGTHENING CENTRES AND 
FREEING SURFACES. 

Take a good standing position. Make the head, 
shoulders, chest and spine very strong, as if expecting 
to carry a great weight upon the head; prepare at 
the same time to resist with resolute determination 
a push from the front or back, not allowing the 
body to be swayed in anjr direction by any force, 
however powerful. 

Lift the forearms to a horizontal position j^oiiiting 
front and parallel to each other. Do not hug the arms 

81 



to the sides nor push the elbows out, but let the arms 
hang easily from shoulders. Put no energy whatever 
into the wrists nor into any part of the hand. See 
Fig. 25. 

Now swing the forearms rapidly up and down with 
all your might, but do not let the swinging of the arms 
move the body in the least. The ideal effort is to 
throw the arms with all the power of the j^erson, and 
at the same time to maintain perfect repose of body. 
After swinging the forearms up and down, whirl them 
round in a circle, first one way and then the other, and 
finish the exercise by repeating the first movement and 
returning to normal position. Practise this exercise 
from one to two minutes. 

xESTHEl^lC VALUE. 

One of the most charming effects of proper physical 
culture is that it gives the person the appearance of 
being very strong in centres and free in periphery. 

In contrast to the object sought in this exercise, 
is the clumsy appearance of persons wdio are in the 
habit of moving heavy weights Avith their hands ; for 
example, the hard working stone mason, or any other, 
laborer whose hands are compelled to perform heavier 

82 



FIGURE 25. 



I 



work than the energy of the chest impels. This 
appearance is very noticeable in persons who practise 
heavy gymnastics. Such attract attention to their 
hands by every movement, and are ah^'ays A^ery con- 
scions of these members when in society. 

In order to obtain and preserve grace, the muscles 
of the chest and shoulders should habitually exert 
more force than should those of the hands. 

The great force is in the muscles of the trunk ; 
the effort should grow less as the extremities are 
approached. This fact should serve us as a guide 
in our study of physical culture. The hand should 
ever suggest skill, as distinguished from the force 
that impels. It should never look helpless (such a 
hand is disgusting, no matter how beautiful its form) 
but should indicate ability to perform its true office, 
viz. : to obey the mandates of the intellect. 



83 



FOURTH DIVISION. 



EXERCISES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HARMONY 
OF MUSCULAR MOVEMENTS. 

VE noAV enter upon the fourth division of physical 
exercises which Ave name, — the relation of 
different groups of muscles to each other. 

UPWARD MOVEMENTS IN CURVES. 

/ ^Weight entirely upon the hall of right foot, heel 
lightly touching the floor, left leg and foot perfectly 
passive. With wrist and hand passive, raise the right 
arm half way between front and side, carry it up 
beside the head as if to carry it over the shoulder. 
At the point where the forearm is nearly on a level 
with top of the head (do not be too precise about the 
altitude) let the arm descend, the forearm leading and 

84 




FIGURE 26 



FIGURE 27. 



the hand following (see Fig. 26). Never allow hand 
or wrist to lead in any exercise of this division. As 
the arm slowly descends carry it to a position abont 
thirty degrees back of the hip (see Fig. 27). Again, 
raise the arm and draAv it down as before, this time 
leaving it in a passive state by the side. 

Now draw the free foot np to the heel of the other, 
and, without attracting attention to the movement, 
transfer the weight, and repeat the exercise with other 
arm. While the arm is moving np and down it is 
expected that the head will move slightly in an 
opposite direction. 

Next draw the free foot near the other and take the 
weight equally upon both ; then lift both arms, bring 
them down and carry them back as in the single arm 
movement. Raise them again and as they descend 
allow them to approach each other until the thumbs 
nearly touch at an altitude corresponding to that of 
the chest, then slowly lower them till they fall easily 
by the sides. 

Lift them the third time till the hands are directly 
over the head i(see Fig. 28), then extend the arms later- 
ally right and left (palms of hands and ends of fingers 
toward each other) until they are straight out at the 
sides and on a level with the shoulders. Now raise the 
arms (the forearms leading, as in Fig. 29, hands, with 

85 



palms up, following) until the palms nearly touch above 
the head. Turn the arms till the palms of hands are 
presented right and left, when the arms again descend 
to a level with the shoulders. From this j^oint raise 
them until the backs of hands nearly touch above the 
head, as in Fig. 30 ; carry them forward and down to a 
level with face, palms directly in front, fingers extended 
upward, thumbs within one or tAvo inches of each 
other. In this position push gently and elastically, 
then turn the arms so that the palms are presented 
toward face, the fingers pointing toward each other ; 
carry the arms out right and left and finally permit them 
to rest by the sides. 

As the arms move up and down in this exercise, the 
head moves slightly in obedience to the law of opposi- 
tion in the p)arts. As the arms move simultaneously 
right and left from any point the head remains in 
repose. 

jQ Take the weight upon right foot, etc., as directed 
in first exercise of tliis division. With the front of 
forearm leading, carry the right arm upAvard as if 
about to lay the palm on the top of the head. Let 
the arm stop when tlie hand is within about four 
inches of the top, side and front of head (see Fig. 
31), and slowly return the arm to former position. 
Repeat this movement. Now with the back of fore- 

86 




FIGURE 28 



FIGURE 29 



arm leading swing the arm in a graceful curve across 
the torso up and over in front of the head, as if 
describing an oval around chest and head, (see Fig. 
32), thence down to the side with palm up ; raise 
the forearm slightly, presenting the palm ; then return 
the arm quietly to first position. Repeat. Transfer 
the weight to tlie left foot and repeat the entire 
exercise. 



LATERAL MOVEME]STS IX CURVES. 

J2 ^ Weight upon right foot as before described. With 
forearm leading carry the right arm up until it is witliin 
al'jout two inches of the chest, and the ends of the 
fingers are about four inches from the left shoulder (see 
Fig. 33). ]N"ow carry the arm around toward the right 
side imtil it points directly out from the shoulder, with 
the palm front (Fig. 34), draw it back to former posi- 
tion near chest ; twist the arm till the palm is turned 
outward, and again carry the arm around and out at 
the side ; return arm to its position near chest ; then 
turn it till the palm is downward and the edge of hand 
outward; repeat the movement of arm toward the 
right, draAv it back toward chest till about half-way, 
then allow it to drop slowly by the side. 



87 



Transfer the weight to left foot and repeat exercise 
with left arm. 

FORWARD MOVEMENTS IN CURVES. 

2^ \ Take w^eight upon the right foot, etc., as in former 
exercises. 

With back of forearm leading raise the right arm so 
as to bring the hand beside the head, with palm to the 
front, fingers pointing upAvard, as in Fig. 35. With 
hand in this position extend tlie arm forward, as if 
repulsing an object (Fig. 36), then return the arm to 
position with hand beside the head ; again extend the 
arm and bring it back to the side of the head, in which 
position the arm presents a graceful curve. Now 
carry the back of forearm, describing an arc of a 

• circle, over and forward until it forms an angle of 
about ninet}^ degrees with the head ; raise the forearm 
slightly, allowing the hand to open freely as seen in 
Fig. 37 ; then bring the arm, with front of forearm 
leading, doAvn to its normal position at the side. 
Transfer the weight to the left foot, and Avith corres- 
ponding arm, repeat these last movements. 

2 % Again take the Aveight upon both feet, and AAdth a 
graceful curA^e of the arms present the palms of hands, 
then alloAV the arms to move to the sides and rest. 

88 




FIGURE 30. 



HYGIENIC VALUE. 



At the time the exercises of the fourth diAdsioii are 
begun, the forces of the system are in a high state 
of activity ; the heart is beating rapidly, and the lungs 
are correspondingl}^ working with great speed, so that 
respiration is rapid, as one would quickly realize if he 
should attempt to read aloud, or speak for any length 
of time, at the close of the third division of exercises. 
The entire arterial system is pulsatmg in a way to 
send the blood through the lungs very swiftly. If 
one should stop all exercise suddenly at the close of 
this third division, the legitimate benefit Avould not be 
realized. One would not only fail to reap profitable 
results, but might seriously apprehend positive injury 
from violating the late of rliytlim in nature. If a violent 
exercise is begun suddenly the danger is great, and it 
is equally great if ended suddenly. There are records 
of positive mjury, and not a few cases of sudden death 
caused by such exercises. One might naturally ask, 
if it would not be better to avoid vigorous exercise 
altogether. The proper and simplest answer to this 
question is, that the structure of the human system 
provides for such exercise, and therefore it ought to 
be tai^en. Without it reserA^e poAver could not be 
stored up in the organism. Science has so abundantly 



demonstrated this truth that all doubts are remo^'ed 
from the minds of those who have given the subject 
any serious study. But while vigorous exercise must 
be taken, it is equally necessary that suitable exercises 
for Tiarmonizing the force thus (generated should be 
practised also. The exercises described in this fourth 
division are for the purpose of meeting that require- 
ment. By them the dynamic force, which has been 
developed by the vigorous exercises, is transmuted 
into harmony of action, which is as needful to the 
perpetuity of all organisms as is dynamic force itself. 
One of the most wonderful principles of all nature's 
organisms and systems, is the perfect harmon}^ with 
which they move. This is observable all through the 
planetary systems and u^d through the vegetable and 
animal organisms. 

Harmony is a positive energy and not a negative 
quality. This is why I have said that the dynamic 
force developed b}^ vigorous exercises must be trans- 
muted into harmony. The object is not " to slow 
down," i. e., to reduce a force in the body, but to 
transmute it into something abiding. 

If you alloAv vigorous exercise to become less and 
less vigorous, until the forces of the body are quiet 
as they w^ere previous to taking the exercise, reaction 
and prostration follow. The effect of exercises taken 

90 




FIGURE 32 



FIGURE 3 



\ 




I 



in this manner tends toward weakness rather than 
strength. It is similar to tlie reaction consequent 
upon taking alcoholic or narcotic stimulants, except 
for the lingering poison of these stimulants. 

An immediate aiid entire change of exercise is 
required in the form of 

HARISrONIZIJ^G MOVEMENTS 

which are found in the fourth division. A hint of this 
principle may be found in Homer's writings, where 
he describes the Greek warriors as entering upon 
athletic games when the battles with the Trojans are 
suspended but for a day. One might think that after 
such bloody conflicts they would rest; but they knew 
too much for that even at so early a period of their 
history. The Greek generals would not suffer such an 
enervating and demoralizing influence to be exerted, in 
view of the anticipated struggles of succeeding days. 

By the exercises of this fourth division the nervous 
system is refreshed and invigorated. The nerves fur- 
nish the natural stimulant for muscular activity, and 
this stimulant is acting upon the muscles at the close 
of the severe exercises of the third division, and should 
now be returned through a higher order of exercise, a 
semi-psychological form, to the brain that furnished it. 

91 



The brain and nerves constitute the battery for all 
energy, whether physical or mental. 

The brain possesses tAvo classes of centres, the vital 
and the mental ; the energy of the former is conveyed 
through the mechanism of the entire body to the latter. 

All the exercises of this division are given in the 
definite movements which express through the body 
the healthy attitudes of the mind. By this method 
the health of the mmd is transmuted into health of 
body. 

The four healthy attitudes of the mind could easily 
be defined in statements, and I would give them here, 
only it would require a very lengthy chapter to explain 
them, and, furthermore, they logically belong to another 
department of the college studies. 

I have simply introduced the thought here, for the 
purpose of suggesting the value of applying to physical 
culture some most important discoveries in nature, viz., 
the correlation of forces and conservation of energy. In 
the kingdom of nature no energ}^ is ever lost, and it 
never ceases to operate. When it seems otherwise, 
it is because it is transmuted into some other mode of 
motion. 

If ive looidd derive the highest benefit from j^hysical 
culture^ ive must have some definite method of conserving 
force., ivhen it is developed. 

92 



FIGURE 34. 




FIGURE 35. 



No other system of physical culture, so far as my 
k]lo^^iedge extends, has made obedience to this prin- 
ciple one of its chief corner-stones. In fact, no one 
lias definitely mentioned it. Some have arranged to 
gradually increase the vigor of the exercise they give, 
and then to gradually decrease it to the point of rest. 
This practice is good so faj* as it goes, but it does not 
meet this demand revealed in the correlation of forces 
and conservation of energy. 

In this demand the requirement is not to work faster 
and then slower, but, through a different exercise, to 
transmute a force developed by vigorous exercise back 
to the brain and nerve centres, to be stored up in 
healthier nerve tissues. 

It is easy to develop and waste power, but it is not 
an easy matter to conserve it. Yet I am satisfied 
there is a way, and that Avay is to transmute imre 
pliysical energy iiito psycliological force^ not in some 
accidental or fanciful manner, but through definite 
forms of psycho-physiological expression. 

ESTHETIC VALUE. 

One experiences pleasure in listening to a melody, 
but how much deeper and richer the joy while listening 
to the full harmony with it. The chief pleasure that 

93 



a melody produces is the harmony that it suggests, and 
the difference in the beauty of various melodies comes 
from difference in the wealth of the harmonies that are 
unconsciously awakened in the mind wliile singing or 
listening to the melodies. 
The poet says : 

' ' All are needed by each one, 
Kotliing is fair or good alone. 
I thought the sparrow' s note from heaven, 
Singing at dawn on the alder bough ; 
I brought him home, in his nest at even ; 
He sings the song, but it pleases not now, 
For I did not bring home the river and sky ; 
He sang to my ear, — they sang to my eye.'" 

After the poet has tested those manifestations in 
nature and Imman experience which give the highest 
pleasure to the imagination, and has found that nothing 
continues to give any sense of beauty when taken by 
itself, he concludes that beauty is a cheat, and that he 
will have nothing to do with it ; that henceforth he will 
utterly ignore beaut}', and seek truth to the exclusion 
of beauty. 

But, just as the poet arrives at this conclusion, the 
thought is revealed to him that the reason he has been 
so sadly disappointed is because he has not obeyed the 
law of beauty. He now discovers that to get the good 

94 




FIGURE 36. 




FIGURE 37 



ill beauty, and thereby obtain from it wliat another poet 
declares, who says, " A thing of beaut}' is a joy for- 
ever," he must not look for beauty in any separate 
object, but in the relationship that objects sustain to 
each other. 

Beauty grows out of the contemplation of truth, 
and that truth is the natural relationship of objects 
in nature, and not the objects themselves. No single 
object considered by itself is beautiful, nor does it give 
pleasure to the imagination in any way. 

The poet continues : 

"Then I said, 'I covet truth; 
Beauty is unripe childhood's cheat; 
I leave it behind with the games of youth,' 
As I spoke, beneath my feet 
The ground-pine curled its pretty wreath, 
Eunning over the club-moss burrs; 
I inhaled the violet's breath; 
Aromid me stood the oaks and firs; 
Pine cones and acorns lay on the ground ; 
Over me soared the eternal sky, 
Full of light and of deity: 
Again I saAV, again I heard, 
The rolling river, the morning bird; 
Beauty through my senses stole; 
I yielded myself to the perfect whole.'' 



95 



THE EELATIONSHIP OF PARTS. 



Tliat wliicli distinguishes Greek art from all other, 
and gives it its immortality, rendering endeavor to 
equal it a hopeless task, is the exact relationship of all 
its parts. Greek sculpture does not excel in perfection 
of detail Michael Angelo's, but no other artists have 
ever developed to so high a degree of perfection the 
relationship of the parts. Other artists have sculp- 
tured a leg and an arm, a hand and a foot, a head and 
a breast with as much accuracy and finish as liave 
the Greeks. The difference is in presenting the 
relation these parts sustain to each other. 

In looking at Greek art the soul is satisfied without 
asking why. The satisfaction comes from the revela- 
tion of feeling given by the relationship of parts. 
The reason of this unequalled skill proceeds, doubtless, 
from tAvo causes : their great love of the human form, 
amounting almost, if not quite, to worship ; and their 
opportunity of observing the nude person while it was 
in action. They were brought up in schools where 
the human form was an object-lesson in all their 
studies. Their gymnastic exercises were taken when 
divested of all clothing, and it became the aspiration 
of the artist to fix in imperishable form the relation 



96 



that the different parts of the person snstamecl to each 
other when in free exercise. 

Attempts have recently been made to accomplish the 
same end by photography, and Avith some degree of 
success ; but the result comes far short of that which 
the experienced eye of the Greek, that eye which had 
been trained for a thousand years, could perceive, and 
which Greek skill could reproduce. Great possibilities 
of, and strong- tendencies toward, accurate observa- 
tion were transmitted from generation to generation, 
increasing in excellence by the contributions from the 
improvements developed in each succeeding age, until 
the Greek of the Phidian period not only felt a 
hitherto unknown enthusiasm for beauty of form, but 
he had eyes that could see finer relationships than had 
ever been previously discovered. 

This high revelation in art, which reached its climax 
in the Phidian period, was not due alone to the skill of 
the artist. The Greeks were at that time the most 
beautiful people, both in form and movement, that 
have ever existed. The systematic physical culture 
by which they had been educated through a period of 
many hundreds of years, had cultivated their persons 
to stand and move in exact obedience to the laws of 
the relationshijj of jyarts. For a model, the artist had 



97 



"perfection in the forms of men and women aronnd 
him. 

The exercises in this fourth division are for the 
particular purpose of educating and developing the re- 
lationship of the different parts of the physical person. 
While there is some value in moving a part by itself, 
the essential benefit to be emphasized comes from 
moving it in relation to other parts. 

We must now give some attention to 

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THIS RELATIONSHIP. 

The most eminent physiologist of this centurj^ has 
said : " Now, it is plain that this grouping of the 
muscular movements arises out of its felt conformity 
to the end in view, and that it is regulated by the 
guiding sensations Avhich indicate to us the progression 
and balance of the body." 

Delsarte also, has said many new, good, true and 
valuable things in statements concerning laws of unity 
in art. His criterion of unity, which he calls the law 
of opposition, is true, and it is a helpful guide in the 
study of this subject. 

The different parts of the body aid each other in 
the attainment of any desired end. Furthermore, it 
is plain that, for economic purposes, the parts always 

98 



move in opposite directions. When the arm rises the 
head inclines toward it ; when the arm moves toward 
the right the head moves toward the left, and vice 
versa. When one arm moves toward the left the 
other moves toward the right, and vice versa, except 
when both arms are used as one ; also the left leg 
opposes in attitude and movement the opposite leg, the 
left arm, and the head. This law is equally applicable 
to all the other parts not here named. It is manifested 
in every person, in the ratio of the grace of his move- 
ments. In the awkward person this law is violated, 
and the violation is the secret of his awkwardness. 

In Greek statuary obedience to this law is perfect. 
The reason is not in the intention of the sculptor, 
for there is no evidence that the Greeks knew this 
as a law of nature. It appears in their art, because 
they represented persons as they saw them, and their 
physical education had developed a race possessing 
ideal forms. 

The judgment can never express this unity by any 
conscious dictation, for unity of movement proceeds 
from feeling. There is a natural tendency in the 
physical system toward harmony of movement and 
posture. It is our aim to educate this tendency. 
Unity secured by obedience to the law of opposition 
is not an invention of art, but a physiological method 

99 



of nature for the attainment of facility in accom- 
jDlishing desired ends. 

We will noAv inquire definitely what the physiologi- 
cal laws are which induce this harmony. 

First, — 

s 

MUSCULAR SENSE TO THE END OE MAINTAINING 
EQUILIBRIUM. 

It is a great attainment in physical culture when a 
child has learned to stand alone. He does not learn 
to stand hy means of what may strictly be called 
knowledge. His desire to stand is psychological, and 
so is his determination ; but the method of success 
is physiological, for it is muscular sense. The child 
has sufficient strength to stand some time before he 
succeeds in doing so. His great difficulty consists in 
maintaining his equilibrium, and it takes time for the 
muscular sense to sufficiently develop to become an 
exciting cause of muscular contraction in a way to 
throw out this or that foot necessary to balance the 
body around its centre of gravity. At last he stands, 
though he knows not how, for the muscular sense 
has guided the contraction of the different groups of 
muscles in such oj)position to each other as establishes 
perfect equipoise. 

100 



Next, — The child will walk. This is an added task, 
in which he will meet the same difficnlty that first 
stood in the Avay of his being able to stand. Finally 
the muscnlar sense becomes snfficientl}^ developed to 
cause the different groups of muscles to contract in a 
manner to sustain the body in an erect position, in 
spite of changing its centre of gravity with eacli 
added step. 

In process of time the arm renders assistance b}^ 
swinging with the opposite leg. 

From this beginning, development should go on 
until all the groups of muscles in the human system 
obey the universal law. Then, and not till then, 
does the body become literally the servant of the 
soul, obeying its mandates through a law of its oayu 
structure, mthout requiring the interference of care 
and judgment. 

Second, — " 

STIMULATION RECEIVED BY OPPOSING MUSCLES 
THROUGH RESISTANCE. 

When a group of muscles is exercised, its tendency 
is to move the bones, to which the several muscles are 
attached, from their position. It would succeed in 
doing so if another group did not instantly contract to 

101 



prevent. The latter group of muscles is stimulated by 
the impulse of motion imparted by the former group 
to that part of the osseous system to which the latter is 
attached. 

Take a muscle from the body of an animal recently 
killed, and fasten one end to the side of a wall, allow- 
ing the other end to hang free, apply stimuli and it 
will shorten somewhat ; then attach a given weight to 
the free end and it will be seen that again the muscle 
immediately shortens. In the living body the nerves 
stimulate the muscles, causing them to contract. While 
that is the main cause of muscular contraction, there is 
another, though less positive cause, viz., the resistance 
of the action of one group of muscles to another group, 
which acts upon the same principle as that shown in 
the illustration of fastening a weight to a liberated 
muscle. It is not that one group of muscles is attached 
to another and opposing group, but two opposing groups 
are attached by means of tendons to the same bone ; 
therefore, the shortening of muscles on the one side, 
which tends to move the bone, causes the opposing 
group to contract, and thereby moves the opposing 
member in an opposite direction. 

A third cause of opposite movements which result 
in harmony of action, is the 



102 



NERVOUS SYMPATHY WHICH EXISTS THROUGHOUT 
ALL PARTS OF THE SYSTEM. 



Figuratively speaking, there is a watchfulness on 
the part of the nerves, for the purpose of discovering 
the need of action, and a readiness to respond to every 
such call. The nerves not only furnish the body with 
power to act, but they exercise a care in preventing 
any unnecessary expenditure of force. Much more 
work can be accomplished by the body, and with less 
exhaustion, if the parts work harmoniously. The 
tendency of the nervous system is to cause the body 
to accomplish the most with a given degree of 
strength; also to preserve the body from unnecessary 
friction. 



FUETHER DIBECTIONS FOR PRACTISING EXERCISES 
IN FOURTH DIVISION. 

That the different parts of the person may move in 
a manner to obey the law of opposition, which secures 
harmony, the individual should stand elasticall}^, in a 
buoyant and expectant attitude, for the slightest re- 
sistance on his part, through indifference or lack of 
concentration, will prevent projDcr muscular response 

103 



in the different agents. But if he stands in this 
expectant condition, and moves the arms in the Avay 
described, it will be but a short time before he will 
notice that the head begins to move slightly in an 
opposite direction from that in which his arm is 
moving. After sufficient practice, other parts of the 
body will also respond in undulations which describe 
beautiful curves. The general effect upon all joarts 
of the body is to cause an expression of sympathetic 
life in beautiful repose. 

There is a poetic beauty in the movements of this 
fourth division, which is very manifest when a number 
of persons take the exercises together, with a musical 
accompaniment. 

MUSCLES INVOLVED. 

I shall not attempt to name the muscles emj)loyed in 
these exercises, for it is not the purpose of the exer- 
cises of this division to develop special muscles, but to 
give the movements of all muscles a harmonious rela- 
tionship. This much may be said, however, that the 
movements of the fourth division tend to give fulness 
and roundness to all parts of the form, especially to 
the neck, chest, and arms. 



104 



SUGGESTIONS 



FOB SECURING HEALTH AND LONGEVITY, 



A WORK oil physical culture should treat upon 
what may properly be termed the habitual con- 
duct of life regarding health. 

Health is developed and preserved more by right 
daily habits concerning those things which are called 
the common necessities of life, than by any extraor- 
dinary efforts. In self-culture each person is obliged 
to begin with what he finds himself to be, and do the 
best he can with the material furnished. 

One eminent thinker and writer has said If you 
are to properly educate a man, you must begin with 
him two hundred years before he is born." We can- 
not begm with ourselves two hundred years before 
birth, nor even at birth. We cannot begin until early 
childhood is past. Most of us do not begin to think 

105 



much about improving our physical powers until we 
have become men and women. Then we learn from 
our failures that we need much more power of body 
than we possess, to enable us to compete successfully 
for the prizes which are the legitimate fruit of endeavor. 

As we begin to realize our deficiencies, the much 
discussed law of heredity looms darkly before us ; 
sometimes to the extent of shutting out courage and 
hope. The more desponding temperaments hunt up 
the weaknesses of their ancestors and build mountains 
in their pathway of progress. There are laws of 
heredity, and we should study them and stand in awe 
of them lest we organize the penalties of violated laws 
into the physical structure of generations to come. 

But while we study and practise obedience, for the 
sake of generations yet unborn, for ourselves we 
should look, not backAvard to the grapes that set our 
fathers' teeth on edge, but to the possibilities with 
which we are endowed. 

If one born with a very moderate degree of robust 
tendency should begin in youth to obey the laws of 
health wisely and persistently he would, when reach- 
ing middle life, be much stronger than the average of 
those born with good constitutions. 

Many of those who, by their Herculean labors, have 
written their names the most indelibly on the records 

106 



of immortal fame, were noted for feebleness during 
childhood. 

If one would become strong and enduring he must 
exercise the spirit of heroism directed toward health. 
When one has firml}^ resolved to become strong, he 
has taken the most important step towards securing 
that incomparable j)rize, health. The laws of nature 
say " Obey us and live, disobey us and die." Health 
is the price of constant obedience, and is within the 
reach of the majority. 

Every human being has descended from two distinct 
lines of ancestry, the human and the Divine. The 
human line is but the condition through which the 
race' is perpetuated, not the cause. The cause lies 
deeper than human heredity ; it lies in the Divine 
nature. We are the children of the race ; on this 
side comes limitation, taints of disease, tendencies to 
particular weaknesses. We are also the children of 
God: on that side lies health, strength and longevity. 
If, in looking up the ancestral stream, you find 
weakness and disease on the human side, rally with 
all your will, perseverance and wisdom on your 
relation to the Universal, the Infinite, which gives 
each generation the opportunity of rising far above 
the generations that have gone before. 

Standing squarely upon the conviction that we 

107 



possess the hereclitarv hold on the fountain of un- 
failing health, let us begin to inquire concerning the 
laws that bring the highest possibilities and the great- 
est longevity. It is desirable to live to a great age 
if we make the most of life's opportunities. It was 
the promised reward of obedience, in ancient time, 
that the chosen should live long in the land the 
Lord their God should give them. That promise 
holds to-day. Long life is the result of obedience. 

LONGEVITY. 

Man by transgression has shortened the period of 
life's duration, in the great majority of cases, to 
three score years and ten; in fact to fewer years. 

Still, even in modern times, some have lived twice 
as long as the so-called "allotted time." The 
thought that the}^ are old and must soon pass away 
hastens the end of life in the aged. Some keep this 
thought almost constantly before them and thereby 
hasten the decrepitudes of age and actually bring 
on premature old age and death. 

It is not well to say to one's self " I cannot, in 
all probability, live to be more than so old." Think 
of living and doing, of being healthy and happy, and 

108 



making those around you so, and leave the time of the 
final event out of your personal arithmetic. 

That life's duration may seem to stretch and pro- 
long in a way to make us feel young (which is a most 
desirable feeling in all), I will insert a few notes 
which show that it is possible for some to attain a 
great age ; hoping, thereby, to inspire courage in those 
who are thinking themselves too old to engage much 
longer in life's duties. 

My friend, keep on the harness as long as possible ; 
many years may be yours. I have seen some, who 
were seventy years old, take a new lease of life and 
a deep draught of the elixir of health by adopting 
new methods of exercise and diet. 

Malte Brun says, "It was in Punjaub and other 
elevated districts that the ancients collected numerous 
examples of Indian longevity. The Cyrni and the 
subjects of Prince Musicanus, often lived to the age 
of one hundred and thirty or two hundred j^ears." 

" Faria says an inhabitant of Diu lived to the age of 
three hundred years." 

" Captain Piley, in the Journal of his Shipwreck, 
mentions that he was told by Sidi Hamet, of an Arab 
in the great African Desert who was nearly three 
hundred years old ; and he adds ' I am fully of the 
opinion that a great many Arabs in this great expanse 

109 



of desert actually live to the age of two hundred years 
or more." 

"According to Pliny, in the year 76 of the Christian 
Era, from a taxing of Vespasian it was estimated that 
between the Apennines and the Po, there were livmg 
one hundred and twenty-four persons one hundred 
years old or upwards ; viz. fifty-four of one hundred 
years ; fifty-seven of one hundred and ten years ; two 
of one hundred and twenty-five years ; four of one 
hundred and thirty ; four of one hundred and thirty- 
five years ; and three of one hundred and forty. 
Besides these, Parma had five, wdiereof three had 
fulfilled one hundred and twenty, and two one hun- 
dred and thirty ; Brussels had one of one hundred 
and twenty-five ; Placentia one of one hundred and 
thirty-one ; Faventia one woman of one hundred and 
thirty-tw^o ; a certain towm then called Velleiacium, 
situated in the hills about Placentia, afforded ten, 
whereof six fulfilled one hundred and ten j^ears of 
age, four one hund]'ed and twenty ; lastly Pimino, one 
of one hundred and fifty years, whose name was 
Marcus Apponius." 

" J. E. Worcester, LL. D., gives a list of ninety- 
eight persons in New Hampshire, with the date of 
their deaths, Avhich occurred within the period of 
ninety -three j^ears, ending in 1824, all of whom were 

110 



one hundred or more years old, besides six others, 
the dates of whose death were unknown, the eldest of 
Avhom was one hundred and twenty. Dr. Worcester 
gives a table, beginning in 1808 and ending in 1821, 
exhibiting a list of one hundred and thirty-two persons 
in the United States who had attained the age of 
one hundred and ten years or upwards ; three at one 
hundred and thirty, three at one hundred and thirty- 
four ; one at one hundred and thirty-five ; two at one 
hundred and thirty-six ; one at one hundred and 
thirty-seven ; one at one hundred and forty- two ; one 
at one hundred and forty-three ; one at one hundred 
and fifty years of age. 

"In the beginning of the year 1858, there were in 
the New England States, four clergymen, all educated 
at Dartmouth College, each of whom was one hundred 
years old." 

Dr. Mussey, formerly a professor of anatomy and sur- 
ger}' at Dartmouth College, says that John Gilley, born 
in the county of Cork, Ireland, 1690, died at Augusta, 
Me. , July, 1813, aged one hundred and twenty-four. 
" I saw him after sunset of a cold evening in December 
at the age of about one hundred and eighteen. At 
that time he took the whole care of the cattle at his 
barn, and cut all the wood for the fire in his house. 
He lived a bachelor till he was between seventy and 

111 



eighty, when he was married to a girl of eighteen. 
They had eight children who had gone out into the 
world 'to seek their fortune,' leaving the old folks 
to take care of the homestead/' 

Henry Francisco, born in France, died near White- 
hall, N. Y., in October, 1824, in his one hundred and 
thirty-fifth year." 

" William Scoby, a native of Ireland, died in 
Londonderry, N. H., at the age of one hundred and 
ten years. When he was one hundred years of age 
he travelled on foot from Londonderrj^ to Portsmouth, 
more than thirtj^-five miles, in one day." 

'' Robert Metlin died in 1787 at the age of one 
hundred and fifteen. He lived for some time at 
Portsmouth, and followed the occupation of a baker. 
He was a great pedestrian. He usuall}^ bought his 
flour in Boston and travelled thither on foot. He 
performed the journey in a day, the distance being 
then about sixty-six miles, made his purchases, put 
his flour on b(jard a coaster, and returned home the 
next day. He was eighty years of age the last time 
he performed this journey. At that time this was 
thought an extraordinary day's journey for a horse. 
The stage-coaches required the greater part of two 
days. Col. Atkinson with a strong horse and a very 
light sulky, once accomplished it in a day. He set out 

112 



early in the morning, and before he reached Greenland 
overtook Metlin, and inquired where he was bound. 
Metlin answered, to Boston. Atkinson asked if he 
ever expected to reach there, and drove on. Atkinson 
stopped at Greenland, and Metlin passed him; they 
alternately jjassed each other at every stage on the 
road, and crossed Charlestown ferry in the same boat 
before sunset." 

" The Hon. Mrs. Watkins of Glamorganshire, 
visited London at the age of one hundred and ten, 
the last year of her life, to witness one of the per- 
formances of Mrs. Siddons. She ascended the many 
flights of steps, which lead to the whispering dome 
of St. Paul's. The last forty years of her life, Mrs. 
W. is said to have lived exclusively on potatoes." 

Thomas Parr, of Shropshire (England), died in 
1636, aged one hundred and fifty-two 3'ears and nine 
months. He was twice married ; the first time at 
eighty, the second time at one hundred and twenty 
years ; he had offspring by each marriage." 

" Henry Jenkins of Yorkshire, England, lived to be 
eight score and nine, or one hundred and sixty-nine 
years of age." 

" Peter Zarten, near Temesvar, in Hungary, died 
January 5, 1724, at the age of one hundred and 
eighty-five." 



" John Roviii and his wife, of Temesvar, Hungary, 
died in 1741, he in his one hundred and seventy- 
second year, she in her one hundred and sixty-fourth, 
having lived together, man and wife, one hundred and 
forty-seven years." 

" There were in the United States, in 1850, two 
thousand, five hundred and fifty-five persons over one 
hundred years of age," which would make about one 
person in every nine thousand. 

I have not given this record of longevity merely 
for the sake of imparting statistical information, but 
to show the possibility there is in the human con- 
stitution for living vastly longer than the ordinary 
hmit of mortal existence. When a person arrives at 
the age of eighty years we think it certain that the 
end is nearly reached; yet one person, I have here 
mentioned, lived one hundred and five years longer 
than that. If one has lived so long, another m^ij. 

Those who have lived to a great age have not 
always been persons of great strength or of especially 
uniform health. The only individual I have ever been 
personally acquainted with who lived to be nearly one 
hundred years of age, was Rev. Roland Hewett, who 
died in Northfield, Vermont, in November, 1886, well 
advanced in his ninety-ninth year. He told me he 



114 



had never been Avhat was termed a very healtliy man, 
and had had several severe ilhiesses. But he never 
knew what people meant when they sometimes said, 
" the pains and aches of old age." It could not be 
said of him that great longevity was his inheritance 
from his parents ; for his father died at the age of 
sixty-nine and his mother died when she was about 
thirty years old. 

Some say, "I do not wish to live to be old." They 
mean by it, they do not wish to live many years after 
becoming enfeebled with age. The persons who at- 
tained such veiy great age did not live after they 
were especially enfeebled. Feebleness does not neces- 
sarily belong to age. Its presence depends upon the 
life the old person has led. It appears from accounts 
given of many persons who have lived to such ad- 
vanced periods that they continued possessed of the 
powers of enjoyment up to the very last. 

CLIMATE. 

Climate should be considered as one of the condi- 
tions of health and longevity. There is no doubt 
that climate exerts an influence upon the health, and 
that some climates are more favorable to health and 
longevity than are others. As a rule people who 

115 



live in a mild climate live to a greater age and 
are larger and stronger than those who live in ex- 
tremely cold regions. Extreme climates, either hot 
or cold, are not thought to be the most congenial 
to health and strength. Those living in extremely 
northern regions do not grow to nearly the size of the 
natives of more mild climates. The same criterion 
can hardly be applied to the hot climate; for the 
natives of the latter grow to full size and frequently 
live to a great age. The temperate zone, however, 
is considered most favorable to the highest develop- 
ment of mind and body ; yet history proves that 
this is far from being a rule without an exception. 

One should study the climate in which he resides, 
and properly relate himself to its demands in his diet, 
clothing, exercise and dwelling. Man can so fit 
himself to nearly all climates as to live healthfully 
in them. 

The climate of New England has received much 
criticism for being so conducive to catarrh, consump- 
tion and pneumonia. But we must remember that 
when the natives of the Atlantic coast were dis- 
covered by the white race, these diseases were 
unknown here. It was not because of anything in 
the constitution of the North American Indian that 
indemnified him against these diseases ; for since he 

116 



has become "partially civilized" Lis greatest foe is 
found to be consumption. It is bad food, drink, 
clothing, houses and habits that render the chmate 
in this part of the country unkind. 

In enumerating the conditions of health we will 
mention, first 

PROPER VENTILATION. 

When the air has been breathed it becomes not only 
uninvigorating, but deadly in its effects. 

Our houses, as a general rule, are so constructed 
that either they fail to protect the inmates from the 
cold, chilling currents of air, or allow no fresh air to 
pass through the rooms. In either case health is 
impaired and life endangered. 

Allowing a cold current of air to continue blowing 
upon any part of the person is liable to produce a 
congestion which will result in a form of disease that 
is in accordance with the nature of the part and the 
temperament and tendencies of the individual. On 
the other hand, habitually occupying rooms that do 
not admit a free passage of air, and where much 
of the air is breathed over many times, poisons the 
blood, enervates the entire system and renders the 
person susceptible to any and every form of disease. 

117 



Windows are not proper ventilators in the winter 
season. By opening the window a great deal of 
heat is lost from the room, therefore there is added 
expense of fuel ; also a sudden stream of cold air 
mnst fall upon some part of the room, so that one 
sitting near the window feels, the damaging chill, and 
those farther away receive it upon the lower extremi- 
ties, chilling them and driving too mucli blood to the 
head, already oppressed with the heat. The house 
should be made in every part to shut out cold in 
winter and heat in summer. For the winter season 
external windows should be added. 

Even if a person lives in a hired house, and is to 
stay there but one winter, it would pay him to put 
on these outside windows. The fuel saved the first 
winter would, as a rule, pay for the cost of the 
windows ; besides, they would prevent great liability 
to sickness, for there is no more effectual way of 
taking cold than by sitting near a window which has 
but one thickness of glass between the person and the 
cold outside air. The warm air of the room contin- 
ually strikes against the cold glass. In condensing, 
it becomes heavier, and consequently falls from the 
window in such a steady current that in a cold day 
it may be felt like a chilling blast coming from the 
outside. People in consequence of feeling this draft 

118 



think the cokl air is coming in aronnd the window 
and look for some means of more tightly fitting the 
window. Instead of this an outside window should 
be added. There should be an open fireplace in every 
room, even if the house is so heated that no fire 
is needed ; then the fresh air should be conducted 
from the outside in passages that will carry it from » 
near the base of the outer wall of the house to the 
ceiling, then conveyed by a passage made for the 
purpose to the centre of the room, where it should be 
allowed to fall in small jets through a large centre 
piece. By thus conducting the air in close passages 
up through the walls of the dwelling, no hot air will 
escape ; for hot air, being lighter than cold, will not 
fall. The chimney, being warm, will draw the cold 
air from the floor, thus allowing the air from the 
outside of the house to pass into the room and fall 
into the overheated air at the top of it, and become 
warmed by the surplus heat. 

In a well warmed room there is always, near the 
ceiling, a high degree of heat which, could it be 
utilized, would warm a sufficient amount of cold air 
with which to ventilate the room. Some think a 
room is sufficiently ventilated if fresh air is brought 
from the outside through the furnace. If there is 
an open fireplace in all the rooms, this theory is 

119 



true : but the air wlieu heated by the f arnace be- 
comes so chy that it absorbs the moisture from the 
mucous membraue of the uose, mouth, bronchial tubes 
and the air cells, to an alarmino- extent. Vessels con- 

o 

taining water are usually found in hot air furnaces, 
but they are so placed that the evaporation is not 
sufficient to property moisten the air. 

The subject of ventilation should command serious 
attention. Few persons can govern the ventilating 
mechanism of the rooms the}^ occupv, and each one 
is called upon to manage the means of obtaining 
fresh air in his own room the best he can". Let him, 
therefore, exercise his ingenuity in so changing the 
air as to give him a healthy atmosphere to breathe, 
and at the same time receive no chill. Better poor 
air than a chill. 

LIGHT. 

The influence of sunlight as a health-producing 
agent is by no means to be overlooked. Su* James 
Willie, phj'sician to the emperors Alexander and 
Nicholas of Russia, reports that in the hospital where 
sunlight was excluded, the death rate was four times 
as great as in one into which the sunlight penetrated. 

I Imve known persons who had been considered 

120 



hopeless invalids to cure themselves by lyuig in the 
sunlight, alloAving the rays to fall directly upon the 
entire body, except the eyes, for several hours each 
day. Dr. Kane wrote during his exploring expedi- 
tion : The day is beginning to glow with the 
approaching sun. The south at noon, has almost 
an orange tinge. In ten days his direct rays will 
reach our hilltops ; and in a week after he will be 
dispensing his blessed medicine among our sufferers. 
The coming sun will open appliances of moral help 
to the sick, and give energy to hygienic resorts which 
I am arranging at this moment. For the last ten 
days we have been watching the growing warmth of 
the landscape as it emerged from the buried shadow 
through all the stages of distinctness of an India ink 
washing, step by step, into the sharp, bold definition 
of a desolate harbor scene. We have marked every 
dash of color which the great Painter, in His benevo- 
lence, vouchsafed us ; and now the empurpled hues, 
clear, unmistakable ; the spreading lake, the flickering 
yellow, peering at all these poor wretches ! Every- 
where superlative lustre and unspeakable glory.'' 

Let us be careful how we exclude tliis friend from 
our houses or his kind rays from our bodies. 

121 

\ 



BATHING. 



The chief office of the skin is not to cover the body. 
The skin is an organ involving most important func- 
tions. It must eliminate many ounces of effete matter 
from the body daily, or much disease-engendering 
material is left in the blood, and the lungs and other 
organs are overtaxed in adding to their own duties 
the work which should be performed by the skin. 
The pores of the skin, through which should escape 
so much of the impurities of the body, frequently 
become clogged. At other times they become too 
active, and an unnatural amount of perspiration takes 
place. 

Proper bathing will prevent both of these difficul- 
ties, by cleansing the pores and keeping them free, 
and by giving to them due tone to sustain their 
contractile power. It is difficult to prescribe any 
exact rules for bathing ; therefore we will suggest a 
few general directions. 

Do not take a plunge bath either hot or cold within 
two hours of a meal. 

Never allow a chill after bathing. 

If a chill follow a bath, injury has been done. 

The laws of health require that one should bathe 



122 



daily. The kind of bath depends much upon the 
general condition of the person. 

A few are benefited by a plunge into cold water, 
but they are persons of great vital resources. 

A sponge bath, taken as rapidly as possible, followed 
by quickly wiping the person with one towel, then a 
severe rubbing with a fresh towel, is the safest and, 
ordinarily, the best form of bath. More than one 
towel should always be used, or a sufficient glow of 
the skin will not be obtained. 

TIME FOR BATHING. 

The best time for bathing is immediately on rising, 
the next best is at the time of retiring. For invalids, 
eleven o'clock in the forenoon is the best time. 

EXERCISE, WHEN AND HOW MUCH. 

The exercises described in this work should be 
taken in their consecutive order, for one division of 
exercises prepares the body for the following division. 
One division assists all the others in producing the 
pi'oper physiological effect, and therefore they should 
all be taken in their logical order, not a part of them 
at one time and the remainder at some future time. 

123 



THE MOST FITTING TIME AT WHICH TO TAKE 
THE EXERCISES. 



A healtliy person can take them with benefit 
regardless of the nearness to meal-time ; hut those 
in delicate health should take some care not to 
exercise within from one-half hour to an hour of 
their meals. 

THE NUMBEK OF TIMES IN THE DAY A PEE SOX 
SHOULD TAKE THE EXERCISES. 

The exact number of times a person should go 
through the exercises during the day cannot be made 
an unvarying rule because there are so man}' things 
to be taken into consideration in each individual case. 
A person who is in reasonably good health, and is 
taking no other exercise, should take the exercises 
carefully six times a day. Those who are exercising 
in other Avays may take them twice a day. Every one 
should take them on retiring at night, no matter how 
fatigued, for the purpose of equalizing the circulation 
previous to sleeping. If one goes to sleep after pur- 
suing some line of work, either physical or mental, 
the blood continues to circulate unequall}' through 

124 



the system, thus preventing sleep from giving entire 
recuperation. 



THE NUMBER OF HOURS OF SLEEP REQUIRED. 

It is impossible to prescribe a rule for the number 
of hours out of every twenty-four that one should 
sleep. Persons of some temperaments require more 
sleep than persons of other temperaments. The slow, 
bilious temperament does not admit of as rapid recu- 
peration as is wrought in one of sanguine temperament. 
Then again, at one period of life a person needs more 
sleep than at another period. Children and aged 
people need more sleep than persons in middle life. 
Again, while following one pursuit an individual may 
require more sleep than when following some other. 
Jeremy Taylor declares that three hours of sleep out 
of every twenty-four are sufficient. Lord Coke says 
seven hours are the required number and Sir William 
Jones agrees with him. Sir John Sinclair mentions 
eight hours. And so one might quote an endless 
number of different authorities without coming to any 
fixed rule. 

Many persons are much troubled with wakefulness 
in the night. This may be omng to different causes, 
such as improper nourishment, insufficient nourishment 

125 



or overeating. It may be in consequence of irregular 
habits in regard to rest. Then there are some persons 
who are incapable of sustaining exertion for long 
periods of time ; and such are sometimes wakeful a 
portion of the night and are obliged to sleep more or 
less in the daj^time. They are of elastic but not of 
enduring temperaments. Then, again, some are wake- 
ful a portion of every night from trying to sleep more 
than is necessary. 

John Wesley gives in his own experience an inter- 
esting illustration of this. He writes "If one desires 
to know exactly what quantity of sleep his own 
situation requires, he may very easily make the 
experiment which I made about sixty years ago. I 
then waked about twelve or one and lay awake for 
some time. I readily concluded that this arose from 
my lying in bed longer than nature required. To 
be satisfied I procured an alarm which waked me ,the 
next morning at seven, nearly an hour earlier than 
I rose before ; yet I lay awake again at night. The 
second morning I rose at six, but notwithstanding this 
I lay awake the second night. The third morning I 
rose at five ; but nevertheless I lay awake the third 
night. The fourth morning I rose at four (as by the 
grace of God I have done ever since) and lay awake 
no more. And I do not lie awake, taking the year 

126 



round, a quarter of an hour together m a month. By 
the same experiment (rising earlier and earher every 
morning) may every one find how much sleep he really 
wants." 

Without doubt the rule lies between five and eight 
hours, and at or somewhere between these two ex- 
tremes, each person will find his needed amount of 
sleep. 

Some persons form the habit of sleeping too much, 
thereby enervating the forces of the system. I would 
like, however, to give a word of caution to parents in 
regard to treatment of children in this matter. The 
child never feels like sleejDing any more than it needs 
to. Many children have been wholly or partially 
dwarfed by being deprived of sufiicient sleep. Let 
the child sleejj^ do not ivake him. One person's 
experience is not a rule for another. 

THE BEST TENIE FOR SLEEP. 

The best time for sleep is between the hours of nine 
at night and five in the morning. 

The rule that .John Wesley gives has a truth in it 
worth considering ; but we must take into consideration 
that John Wesle}^ had such habitual command of him- 
self in ever}' way that it was comparatively easy for 

127 



him to ascertain a rule for himself in regard to the 
amount of sleep he required. It may be more difficult 
for persons who do not live in such a consistent manner 
to determine the quantity of sleep they need. 

John Wesley rose at four, and for sixty years 
enjoyed the glories of morning. Many have written 
of sunsets, few of sunrises. Without doubt the 
reason is that few writers are in the habit of seeing 
nature in the early morning. As indescribably beau- 
tiful as sunset is, it is no more inspiring to the 
imagination of the poet than are the splendors of 
sunrise. Then, in addition to the " beauty of early 
morn," there is a physical exhilaration experienced 
by the earl}^ riser entirely unknown to those who 
indulge in the morning nap. Notwithstanding that 
" early to bed and early to rise " should be insisted 
upon as the ideal standard, and that, other things 
being equal, life yields more to those who obey it, 
there are some so unfortunately organized that it 
is doubtful if, under any circumstances, they could 
obtain their needful sleep before five in the morning. 
I have known two children who furnished excellent 
illustrations of the fact that, while,, most people are 
very much healthier in following the rule of getting 
all their sleep between nine at night and five in the 
morning, there are some who are wholly unable to do 



this. These two children were ahvays, during child- 
hood, under the same influences, yet one was awake as 
early as five and alwaj^s asleep at seven at night, while 
the other could not go to sleep early nor rise early. 
The parents tried every expedient in their power to 
correct the habit of the one who slept late, but with 
no success whatever. Feebleness and even positive 
illness followed every attempt at changing her habit. 
When this child grew to womanhood she used eveij 
means to create a change in herself in tliis respect, but 
with no good results. 

While nature has provided general rules, let us be 
careful in the treatment of our cliildren that we do 
not attempt to make what is a general rule apply to 
every inchvidual case. 

CLOTHING. 

We shall in this place consider the matter of 
clothing in regard to temperature, having elsewhere 
spoken of the necessity of the freedom it should 
allow in exercise. 

I wish here to say only a word in regard to clothing 
being so worn as not to hinder the free exercise of all 
the muscles ; and that word I wish to give to mothers 
and to all who have the care of small children. The 

129 



waists of little girls, in many instances, are prevented 
from developing to their full size by liavmg the 
clothing so close as to be termed ''a good fit." Nature 
always does the best she can under the circumstances. 
The lungs need free play for respiration, and nature 
makes great efforts to secure it for them when thej^ are 
in any way restrained. 

If there is the slightest restraint from the clothing 
being too close, the waist of the body will shrink from 
filling the waist of the garment that it may have full 
freedom to expand during inspiration. In making' 
the waist of the garment care should be taken that 
room be left betAveen the body and the garment for 
the utmost expansion of the body without the slight- 
est restraint from the garment. While the dress is 
being fitted the child is quiet, and the breathing 
reposeful, but it must be remembered that when the 
child runs and plays, which is its right and necessary 
privilege, the respiration is greatly increased. So 
much is it increased that, though the garment is 
perfectly free while the child is in repose, it requires 
two inches more in the circumference of the waist for 
the added action of the lungs caused by vigorous 
exercise. Another way in which the child is some- 
times injured is by the bad fashion of wearing too long 
clothing in early childhood. Whatever may be said in 

130 . 



favor or against the long skirts worn by women, and 
however tyrannonsly custom exerts her power in 
restraining the freedom of healthy exercise in the 
adult, a mother should, in spite of fashion, provide for 
the health of the little child for which she stands 
responsible. 

About once in so many years it becomes the fashion 
to bestow the long skirt upon children. Then the 
fashion changes and the skirt extends no lower than 
the knees, which is its proper limit. Is it necessary 
that intelligent mothers should yield to the long skirt 
fashion, and thereby burden their little ones in a way 
that will prevent development of strength and grace ? 
Mothers should think of what the laAv of God 
demands in the care of their children, and be sure 
they yield to the demand of fashion only so far as is 
consistent with the laws of nature. Mothers intend 
no wrong to their children in these respects, but they 
do not give sufficient thought to the subject. There 
are many mothers who Avould not for their lives 
violate one of the laws God wrote upon tablets of 
stone, who, through inexcusable ignorance and thought- 
lessness, violate the laws He has written in the consti- 
tution of their children. One never knows what life 
and health extinguishing machines fashion may invent 
and impose upon society at any time. Our only safe- 

131 



guard in this respect is the knowledge and application 
of science in resisting the freaks of fashion. The 
legitimate use of clothing is to protect the body 
against such degrees of temperature as are uncongenial 
to its condition. A sufficient amount of clothing 
should be Avorn to prevent too great a loss of heat from 
the body. The amount of clothing required for this 
is largely determined by sensation. The best general 
rule for determining the quantity of clothing that 
should be worn is the amount required to secure 
comfort ; for, generally speaking, the pomt of comfort 
is the point of health. 

There are, however, a few exceptions to this rule. 
Sensation is not always a safe guide in the matter of 
clothing, because sensation is modified by use. A 
person may so accustom himself to wearing less 
clothing than health requires that, although he expe- 
riences some discomfort while forming the habit, the 
sensibilities adapt themselves to his habits after a time, 
and he feels comfortable, though not properly pro- 
tected. If the body loses too much heat the blood is 
impoverished, the vital organs are weakened, and the 
system suffers from a diminution of power through 
all its parts. Another exception to the infallibility of 
sensation as a guide is in the case of wearing too 
much clothing during the warm season of the year. 

132 



By wearing too much clothing in warm weather 
or in warm rooms, the skin becomes weakened and 
morbidly sensitive to cool air. The skin is not only 
weakened by too much clothing, but the energy of the 
small arteries that supply the skin suffers a loss of tone 
in the muscular coating with which they are lined, and 
therefore they fail to convey the blood to the surface 
of the body whenever the temperature is lowered even 
in a small degree, and a chill and a cold are the 
consequences. 

If one concludes he is wearing too much clothing 
he should leave it off very gradually, and commence 
to do so during the hottest weather, and should take 
great pains, morning and evening, to bathe in tepid or 
cold Avater, and rub the person with either a flesh 
brush or coarse towels. One should always take off 
all his clothing at night and expose the entire person 
to the air in the room ; but the room should exhibit 
the mercury at not less than sixty-five degrees, unless 
the individual is healthy and used to such exposure. 
The skin needs to come in contact with fresh air 
daily. One should never wear a garment at night 
that has been worn during the day. Little children 
should be protected from the temperature that is 
near the floor which is always cooler than the air 
that is higher up in the room. I have found the 

133 



temperature in a room where the ceihng was only 
nine feet high, to vary forty degrees between ceiling 
and floor. This, of course, was in the coldest weather 
in the winter, for such a difference could not exist 
in the summer season. The mercury stood at eighty 
near the ceiling and at forty near the floor. Adults 
were comfortable, seated in the room with good winter 
garments on. But what was the condition of little 
children who were playing on the. floor? Not long 
since, during a January morning, the mercury ranging- 
within fifteen degrees of zero, I called at a friend's 
house where a little one, with naked legs, w^as 
playing on the floor. The child soon grew irritable 
and the mother wondered at it, saying, "I think the 
child feels cross during cold days because the elec- 
tricity affects its nerves ; for it is a very sensitively 
organized child, just like its mamma." I took up the 
child and found its legs so cold that they must have 
been in pain. 

In these days, when scientific terms are household 
words, people frequently hunt up some very obscure 
and remote cause for disease instead of taking the 
pains to exercise a little common sense in discovering 
and removing causes that are right at hand and under 
their control. 

Indolent minds seek for rules to guide them in all 

134 



matters of health, but no arbitrary rules can be given 
which will apply to every case that may arise ; many 
valuable suggestions may be given, but no rule or 
suggestion should be allowed to take the place of 
constant watchfulness, though tfulness and care. I 
write, not to lay down rules, but with the hope of 
stimulating earnest thought on the subject of securing 
health by obeying its laws. 



FOOD. 

In discussing food, the first question that arises is 
in regard to the kind of food natural to man. This 
question touches primarily the much discussed subject 
of whether man is naturally a vegetable eater or 
whether he is carnivorous. Cuvier says, "fruits, 
roots and succulent parts of vegetables appear to be 
the natural food of man." To this view most 
scientific men, Avho have carefully investigated the 
subject, seem inclined ; and T am fully persuaded 
that it is the correct view. But, while it is true 
that man is naturally a vegetable eater, it is also 
true that a large part of the human race lived for 
untold ages in regions where it was impossible to 
obtain subsistence from the vegetable kingdom alone, 
and were therefore compelled to resort to flesh eating. 

135 



All northern races have feci on a mixed diet for 
many thonsands of years, until meat eating is become, 
to some extent, a second nature. 

Many persons live and thrive on an exclusively 
vegetable diet. Others have tried to maintain health 
on such a diet but have miserably failed, and have 
been obliged to return to a mixed diet. 

Were it not for the fact that a second nature has 
been induced by meat eating, I should at once and 
unreservedly advocate a strictly vegetable diet for all 
persons ; and urge it on the ground that the races of 
men who exclude meat from their diet are the most 
robust and strong, and attain the highest degree of 
longevity. I have no doubt the time will come, but 
it must come by degrees, when meat will not be 
used. The laws of economy will induce vegeta- 
rianism. Humboldt declares, upon a careful estimate, 
that an acre of ground is capable of growing bananas 
in sufficient quantity to support fifty persons. It is 
well known that enough meat could not be supported 
on an acre to keep more than five persons. It will be 
long before the race Avill be compelled to exclude meat 
from principles of economy, and so gradual will be the 
change that no harm, but great good Avill come of it. 

No rule can be established that will apply with 
equal benefit to all persons in regard to eating iiieat. 

136 



Let us say this, lioAveA-er, that if a A^egetable diet 
has been tried by an}^ person and it is found to agree 
with iiim, let it by all means be continued, for it is 
the ideal food. Langsdorf says, The people of the 
Marquesas and AVashington Islands excel in beauty 
and grandeur of form all the other South Sea islanders. 
Many of them might well be placed beside the most 
celebrated chef cTceiivres of antiquit}^ and they would 
lose nothing by the comparison." The}' never eat 
any meat. Pausanias has told us that the early 
Greek athletes ate no meat. 

After all has been said that can be said for A'egetable 
diet and against meat, care and experiment should not 
be neglected while adopting an exclusiA'ely A^egetable 
diet. Xo doubt, in most instances, milk together 
with fruit and grain would render meat entirely un- 
necessary. Prof. Mussey, from whose A^aluable work 
called, "Health, Its Friends and Its Foes," I have had 
occasion to make scA^eral quotations, says that some 
of the Arabs who range the great desert of Sahara 
are said to liA^e on milk, and to attain a great age. 

The Arabs who live in the desert subsist AA'holly 
on the milk of their camels. It is the milk of an 
animal that we call sacred and it causes long hfe. 
Those who liA^e on nothing else have no sickness or 
diseases, and are particularh' favored b}" heaven : but 



only cany the same j^eople off from the desert and 
let them live on bread, meat, and frnits, the}^ then 
become subject to every kind of pain and sickness 
when they are young, and onl}^ live to the age of two 
zille and a half at the most (about one hundred years) 
while a great many die very young, and not one-tenth 
part of the men or women live to the age of one 
zille. Hamet assured Capt. Riley that it was very 
common to find Arabs on different parts of the 
desert nearl}^ tAvo hundred years old retaining all 
their faculties." 

I have known several who, on account of very 
weak digestion, left off all kinds of food except 
bread and milk, and then enjoyed good health. I 
have in mind one at this moment, ^yho has confined 
himself to bread and milk exclusively, or nearly so, 
for almost forty years, and is now living in good health 
at the age of eighty-seven years. Previous to adopting 
a diet of bread and milk he had been, for many years 
in feeble health, and suffered greatly from dyspepsia. 

THE MOST NUTKITIOITS KINDS OF FOOD. 

Our next inquiry is concerning the most nutritious 
kinds of food found ordinarily upon our tables. The 
great objections to pastry may be resolved into two : 

138 



First, that it is allowed to take the place of more 
nutritious food and thereby deprives the system of a 
sufficient amount of nourishment. Second, that pastry 
induces derano^ement of the stomach and fermentation 

o 

in the blood. At best we should eat sparingly of 
those things that are put upon our tables merely 
because they are pleasing to the taste. 

One ought to know something of the chemical 
elements contained in ordinary kinds of food. I will, 
therefore, give some statements contained in a valuable 
work written by Dr. Bellows : " The Philosophy of 
Eating," published by Houghton, ]\Iifflin & Co. ; I 
hope every student of physical culture will peruse 
this book. "It is a remarkable fact wdiich shows the 
importance of connecting science Avith practice, that 
the deterioration in the quality of the diet in Dundee 
prison consisted in substituting molasses for milk : 
which had been previously used with oat-meal porridge 
and oat-meal cakes ; molasses being entirely destitute 
of muscle-making material, wdiile milk contains a full 
proportion of these important materials." 

From study, observation and experience, I am led to 
place milk first in the rank of the most healthful 
articles of diet ; notwithstanding the fact that so 
many people think it disagrees with them. Never 
take milk, cold and never take it between meals, 

139 



and, if past experience shows that it causes any 
unpleasant symptoms commence with a very small 
quantity and gradually increase it. Also eat fruit 
with milk. 

Wheat unbolted is the most nutritious of grains. 
Beef and lamb are the healthiest and most nutritious 
of the meats. Taking everything into consideration, it 
is better to have meat cooked ''medium" than "rare." 

When we say wheat unbolted makes the most 
healthy and nourishing bread, we do not mean the 
article that is usually found under the name of 
"graham." This was originally unbolted wheat, and 
was so intended by the reformer from whom it took 
its name, but there is so much adulteration of this 
article that it is better to purchase the wheat and have 
it ground to order. Bread and biscuit should be much 
better baked than they usually are in this country. 
The English bake their bread much more than we do 
here, and that is one reason why dyspepsia is less 
common in England. Again there should be no 
"shortening" whatever put into the mixture; for 
any fat cooked with meal or flour renders them more 
or less indigestible. One might ask why butter cooked 
in the bread is not as healthy as when spread upon the 
bread after it is cooked. Nature does not always 
gratify our curiosity by giving us the why. In 

140 



chemistry we can know little of the why, but must 
content ourselves with knowing what and how. 

Some people cannot eat fat meat of any kind ; such 
may indulge freely in butter or cream. Of all the oily 
substances cream is the healthiest. Without doubt it 
might often take the place of cod liver oil with benefit 
to the consumptive patient. 

Of the vegetables, potatoes are the healthiest. In 
1840 some of the prisoners in the Glasgow bridewell 
were confined to a strict diet of potatoes ; two 
pounds at breakfast, three pounds at dinner, one 
pound at supper, all boiled. At the beginning of 
the experiment eight were in good health, and two in 
mdifferent health : at the end, the eight continued in 
good health and the two who had been in indifferent 
health had improved. There was an average gain of 
nearly three pounds and a half in the weight of the 
prisoners. All expressed themselves quite satisfied 
with this diet, and regretted the change back to the 
ordinary diet." 

Fruit should be eaten freely at meal-time, never 
between meals. Apples are the best kind of fruit and 
oranges rank next in dietetic virtue. What I have 
said concerning apples and oranges may admit of 
exceptions in individual cases. Much also depends 
upon the quality of fruit. 

141 



A great variety of food is undesirable. Some 
stomachs are always craving a change of food. 
Such a stomach should be disciplined, for there is 
something abnormal in its condition. A change of 
food is required only when some element in it 
preponderates over others to the extent of loading 
the system with that one element. The change brings 
about a better balance between the elements. 



QUA^^TITY OF FOOD NECESSARY. 



Another much discussed principle in diet is quantity. 
Here again one must not attempt to be too exact, 
for no one is able by any scientific calculation to 
determine just how much food is required to sustain 
a man for a given period of time. A person may 
need more at one time than at another. Again, no 
two persons require precisely the same quantity. 
Nature has a way of her own by which she regulates 
the quantity to some extent through the appetite. 
Appetite is by no means an infallible guide, either in 
quantity or kind. It has been said one had better 
eat too little than too much." The reverse of this is 
true. Let a person be sure of eating enough. This 
advice, however, applies more particularly to persons 



142 



of nervous tendencies than to persons of vital habits. 
The nervous, anxious person seldom eats as much as 
is good for him, while the person of more vital tenden- 
cies is liable, under favorable conditions, to eat too 
much. Again, the quantity of food should be regu- 
lated somewhat according to the amount of exercise 
taken. 

NUMBER OF MEALS TO BE TAKEN IN A DAY. 

The Germans at one period were in the habit of 
eating five good meals in a day. The North American 
Indian flourished on one when it was inconvenient to 
obtain more. A majority of people require three 
meals. Some persons, however, do much better with 
two meals a day. Let each person study his own 
needs. 

FLAVOR OF FOOD. 

A word should be said about flavor of food. That 
which one relishes, other things being equal, will be 
digested the most easily. But the relish is largely a 
matter of habit. An appetite for almost anything can 
be acquired. A person usually likes that best which 
he is in the habit of eating. ''I would like it the way 
my mother used to make it " is a common remark ; 

143 



though sometimes not agreeable to the present cook's 
ears. 

Therefore, instead of being guided in the selection 
of food by what is most pleasant to the taste, educate 
the taste to enjoy that best which is most nourishing 
and healthful. 

CONFECTIONERY. 

Here an emphatic word should be spoken. Much 
is said against the dram shop and none too much ; 
but a great deal ought to be said against the candy 
shop. Not that I would compare the two shops, for 
the evil of the former is so much greater than that 
caused by the latter that no comparison whatever can 
be made. Still the confectioner}^ store is a positive 
injur}^ to the communitj'. Our children and young 
people are being seriously harmed by it. 

There are so many evils growing out of the use of 
these sweets that there is no space in a work of this 
size in Avhich to even name them. 

That fermentation takes place in the blood in 
consequence of so much sweet is a demonstrated 
fact. Acidit}" follows, engendering countless evils, 
such as catarrh, sore throat, acid stomach, coughs, 
colds, stomach derangements, and general debility. 

144 



If parents would look into this evil their children 
would be taught better than to eat confectionery, 
though some friend more tender than wise " should 
give it to them. 

DRINK. 

The kind of beverages one should use is a very 
important question. This is apparent when we 
consider the fact that a person requires several times 
the weight of water to sustain life and health that he 
does of solid food. 

This is not intended as an exhaustive treatise upon 
any of the hygienic conditions, therefore I shall say but 
little on this subject, but hope I may be able to make 
some useful suggestions concerning what and how 
much to drink. 

No one will question the statement that water is the 
proper beverage for all persons, whatever their con- 
dition. It is water only that can quench thirst, what- 
ever may be mixed with it. One may mix elements 
of food or medicine or stimulants with water, for 
nourishment or cure, or to the end of producing happy- 
making sensations and emotions, yet, upon a moment's 
thought, all will acknowledge that it is water and 
water only that allays the parching cry of the body 

145 



for moisture. We will pause to say but a Avorcl 
concerning the mixture of any form of alcoholic 
spirits with the water. To say nothing of the 
danger of increasing the habit, and thereby entailing 
upon one's self all those evil consequences with which 
every one is theoretically acquainted, the spirit taken 
regularly in small quantities preserves tissue which 
retains dead materials in the place of new and fresh 
elements. 

Chocolate and cocoa are harmless mixtures, and are 
about the only harmless elements that are fashionably 
used in beverages. 

Tea is less harmful than coffee. Coffee is an excellent 
medicine, especially as an antidote for several poisons, 
because coffee itself is a poison. The suffering that 
comes from this medicine when used as a beverage 
cannot be estimated. Some preparations from wheat 
have been recently introduced that are not only 
harmless but very beneficial if used with meals. I 
would specially mention a preparation by Prof. John 
W. Clark. This preparation contains a large per cent 
of vitalized hypophosphites, which nourish the brain 
nerves and bones. I hope the time is not far distant 
when this new preparation from wheat will so far 
take the place of the coffee bean that the sales of 
the latter will be confined to the physicians' orders. 

146 



Consider how much better it is to noiirisli brains than 
to stimulate and thereby weaken them. 

Cold drink should never be taken with meals ; nor 
within half an hour before nor in less than an hour 
after eating. The gastric juice ceases to flow when 
the temperature of the stomach is below 98 degrees 
Fahrenheit. This has been demonstrated in stomachs 
laid bare by a wound. 

Milk may be drunk by some people with great bene- 
fit, but it is food, therefore the best method of taking- 
it is in the form of " bread and milk ; " for the saliva 
needs to mix with it before it enters the stomach. 

QUANTITY OF DRINK. 

According to the latest and most satisfactory experi- 
ments made in Germany and elsewhere, it is very 
evident that but few people drink as great a quantity 
of water as the body requires. 

A few years ago a theory was started that it was 
not best to drink during meals, because the water 
would dilute the gastric juice, rendering it too weak 
for digestive purposes. The stomach takes care of 
that matter. If there is more water in the stomach 
than its functions require, it at once disposes of it. 
The danger and harm that comes from drinking at 

147 



meal-times, is caused by improper kinds or improper 
temperature of drink. The exact temperature that 
nature requires the drink to be is 98 degrees Fahren- 
heit. Few persons take it at that temperature because 
it tastes insipid to them. Some, even declare they 
cannot retain warm water upon the stomach. This 
but proves that they have abused their stomachs and 
rendered them morbid. The milk provided by nature 
for the nourishment of the infant is at exactly the 
prescribed temperature. As an immediate tonic, or 
for any other medicinal purpose, water may be 
administered as hot as the mouth can bear it, but as 
a beverage, 98 degrees is the only temperature which 
exactly meets nature's requirements. 

USES OF MEDICINE. 

We have little to say under this head, but leave it 
to each person's family physician to prescribe accord- 
ing to the needs of his patient. 

The word that is most needed is that which will 
prevent a person from taking medicine when it is not 
called for by symptoms of disease. 

One theory in regard to medicine is clearly estab- 
lished, and that is that a medicine that will help the 
sick will injure the well. 

148 



TOBACCO. 



The use of tobacco is one of the crying evils of our 
time. The design of this Avork will not allow space 
for a proper consideration of the subject ; therefore I 
earnestly pray every reader to peruse " The Tobacco 
Problem," by Meta Lander. It is a book that should 
be in every young man's hands. There is no more 
appropriate gift for birthday or Christmas. Who- 
ever helps others to read the book will perform an 
act of real missionary work. 

HEALTHY ATTITUDES OF THE UmTf. 

Different states of mind affect the health of the 
body so much that a few words under this head may 
be helpful in obtaining and maintaining a high degree 
of health. Some persons inherit such a strong ten- 
dency towards health that they almost seem to be 
predestined to live healthfully through a long life. 

With a large number of persons the opposite is true, 
and health \vith them is the result of constant and 
even heroic endeavor. The first healthy attitude of 
the mind that I will mention is an heroic resolve to be 
ivell. This state of mind, if habitual, reacts power- 
fully upon the body, securing the first requisite of 

149 



health. For illustration we have the case of the 
young soldier, who, after being severely' wounded, was 
told in reply to the questions he asked concerning 
his chances for recovery, that he had about one chance 
in a hundred. He quickly answered " I will take that 
one.'' The fact that he felt, without question, that he 
could take which of the one hundred chances he chose, 
and that it was choice on his part and not accident, 
that was furnished him, made the surgeon feel sure of 
the young man's recover}', although the symptoms were 
ninety-nine against to one for him. The man recovered 
speedily. But how would it have been had he stopped 
to balance in his mind the odds against him. Any 
experienced physician would say that a different 
mental attitude on the part of the young man would 
have made death almost certain. 

What the mind contemplates affects the health of 
the body materiall}-. Some are always thinking of 
health in all its many splendid manifestations. Such 
will stand a much better chance of keeping well, or, 
if sick, their opportunity for recovery will be vastly 
greater. 

There are mothers who take a very unwise course 
in this regard, and keep an unhealthy mental atmos- 
phere in their homes continually by always holding 



150 



the tlioiiglit of sickness before the minds of their 
children. 

The power of a mental concept to realize itself in 
the physical conditions is very great. I have seen 
individnals get well when there was no apparent canse 
for their recover}^ except a right mental attitnde. 
There are certain mental states wiiich produce health 
and others that produce disease. 

Habitual cheerfulness is the friend of physical 
health, while its opposite is fruitful of disease. Prof. 
Carpenter, in his great work on physiology, says, A 
cheerful state of feeling seems to be decidedly favor- 
able to the performance of the digestive functions ; 
it probably exerts a beneficial influence as to both 
quantity and quality on the secretion of the gastric 
fluid." 

An habitual state of trust acts favorably upon the 
health of the bod}^ The effect of this affirmative 
quality on the health is not as apparent as is the 
effect of its opposite. Carpenter again says, "It is a 
prevalent and perhaps not an ill-founded opinion that 
melancholy and jealousy have a tendency to increase 
the quantity and vitiate the quality of the biliary fluid. 
But it is certain that the indulgence of these feelings 
produces a decidedly morbific effect by disordering the 
digestive processes, and thus reacts upon the nervous 

151 



system by impairing its healthy nutrition." The 
effects of particular states of mind upon the body are 
so marked and so great as to attract the attention and 
thoughtful investigation of the greatest physiologists 
and writers on pathology and therapeutics. 

It is but logical to believe that great cures may 
be wrought through certain states of the mind. No 
one disputes that disease and death have been produced 
by an effect of the mind upon tlie body. This is such 
an interesting subject that I shall be pardoned for 
quoting at some length, from some of the most learned 
authorities on this subject. 

William B. Carpenter, M. D., F. li. S., F. G. S., 
says, '' Although there can be no doubt that the 
habitual state of emotionable sensibility has an impor- 
tant influence upon the general activity and perfection 
of the nutritive processes, — as is shown by the well- 
nourished appearance usually exhibited by those who 
are free from mental anxiety as well as bodily ailment, 
contrasted with the ' lean and hungry look ' of those who 
are a prey to continual disquietude, — yet it is not often 
we have the opportunity of observing a production of 
the change in nutrition of any specific part, by strong 
emotional excitement." 

The celebrated physician Carter, in his memoir on 
Hypnotic Therapeutics," reports the following case : 



" A lady who was watching her child at play saw a 
heavy window sash fall upon its hand, cutting off 
three of its fingers ; and she was so much overcome 
by fright and distress, as to be unable to render it any 
assistance. A surgeon was speedily obtained, who, 
having dressed the wounds, turned himself to the 
mother, whom he found seated, moaning and com- 
plaining of pain in her hand. On examination, three 
fingers, corresponding to those injured in the child 
were found to be swollen and inflamed; they had ailed 
nothing prior to the accident. In four and twenty 
hours incisions were made into them, and pus was 
evacuated; sloughs were afterwards discharged and 
the wounds ultimately healed." Dr. Carpenter de- 
clares that he has personally verified this statement. 
Speaking of the power the state of the mind called 
expectancy has over the body Dr. Carpenter says, "It 
is to such a state that we may attribute most if not all 
the cures wliich have been worked through what is 
properly termed the imagination. The cures are real 
facts however they may be explained." 

A word of caution may not be amiss here. While 
wonderful things have sometimes been done tlu^ough 
some special action of the mind it is not wise or sound 
to run into some extreme theory on this subject and 
discard learned physicians. 



What certain states of miiicl may be able to accom- 
plish in perpetuating health and restoring those who 
are ill is beyond the comprehension of the understand- 
ing, and possibly beyond the power of belief. Upon 
reliable testimony, it is affirmed that every one of the 
most fatal diseases have, one time and another yielded 
to the power of special mental concepts and emotions. 

It is reasonable to believe that the time will come 
when the relationship of psychology and physiology 
will be so Avell understood that healing the body 
through the influence of the mind that is within it, 
will become one of the mightiest agencies for banish- 
ing disease known to the medical profession. Not 
that it will take the place of all known remedial 
methods, but will have its recognized place among 
them. It is now one of the principles of the healing 
art that is discussed in the medical colleges, and 
without doubt it will become a subject of increasing 
interest. 

" There is no great and no small 
To the soul that maketli all: 
And where it cometh, all things are, 
And it cometh everywhere." 



154 



EMERSON COLLEGE OF ORATORY 

(KORlMERIvY MONROE;) 
WESLEYAN HALL, 

36 BReMFIEl2D STREEX = B0.SrON. 

The Largest Schaol of Oratory in America. 
C. WESLEY EMERSON, M.D., LLD., - - PRESIDENT. 



K A C U Iv T Y. 



C. Wesley Emerson, M.D., LL.D, 
Henry Lawrence Southwick, A.M. 
Jessie Eldridge Southwick, O.M. 
Li. Alonzo Butterfield, Ph.D., A.M. 
Susie Rogers Emersok, O.M. 
Silas Alden, O. M. 



William J. Rolfe, A.M., Litt.D. 

F. Nellie Karnan, O.M. 

Ellen U. Clark. 

H. E. Holt. 

Walter B. Tripp, O.M. 

LiLiA Smith, O.M. 



The Emerson College of Oratory, of Boston, is chartered by the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts, and has the largest number of teachers and pupils of 
any similar institution in the United States. It teaches oratory as an art rest- 
ing upon absolute laws of nature, explained and illustrated by exact rules of 
science, and gives a thorough training in all the principles upon which this 
art is based. 

The College confers degrees and qualifies students to become professors 
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become public readers. Its graduates are occiipying fine positions in schools 
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A complete system of Physical Training and Voice Culture, a new method 
of Analysis, Natural Rendering, Gesture, and the principles of the Philosophy 
of Expression are thoroughly taught. 

EVOLUTION IN ART. 

Dr. C. Wesley Emerson has discovered, through his studies of ancient 
art, the principles of its natural evolution which underlie all forms of art, and 
has applied them to the art of rendering. This discovery is of paramount im- 
portance to all students of expression, and from it have been deduced methods 
of instruction along the lines of nature's own development, which insure a more 
rapid, certain, and unified growth in the pupil than any mode of teaching yet 
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Thorough Course in English Literature and Rhetoric, 
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FALL TERM OPENS IN OCTOBER , 

AT WESLEYAN HALL, BOSTON. 



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For Catalogue and further information, address, 

HENRY LAWRENCE SOUTHWICK, A.M., Sec'y, 

36 BROMFIELD ST., BOSTOX, MASS. 



EVOLUTION OF EXPRESSION 



CHARLES WESLEY EMERSON, M.D., LL.D., 

President Emersofi {formerly Monroe) College of 
Oratory, Boston. 



A COMPILATION OF SELECTIONS ILLUSTRATING THE 
FOUR STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT IN ART 
AS APPLIED TO ORATORY. 



IN FOUR VOLUMES. 




Although this work was first published July, 1888, it has 
already gone through several editions. It has been adopted by 
some of the foremost High Schools, Colleges, and Universities 
as the standard reader. 

BOSTON : 

CHAS. H. HUFF, PUBLISHER AND PRINTER, 
131 Devonshire Street. 
1890. 



4 



